Sugar with a Side of Rain

A snowy Halloween with the added threat of death is oh so 2020. But we survived, intact, and the kids scored big this year. So many full-size candy bars! A pandemic really brings out the generosity of strangers. Candy stations overflowing with kid crack set up all over the neighborhood where we trick-or-treated and the kids declared it was “the best Halloween EVER.” And I was told that we two parents made this night “seamless” for our little offspring. No matter what they tell you, a house divided can and will stand. A new level of parenting during all this has been reached. Go us, go kids. And I even dressed up as Johnny Rose, eyebrows and all. Go me.

Although we adults don’t think much about Halloween, it really is a high holiday for kids and their excitement and anticipation cannot be contained. With all that is going on right now, I was confused as to whether or not trick-or-treating was happening or should happen. All week, Isaac made plans for the night and it became just too difficult to compete with. He knows how to make things happen and could, if he set his mind to it, take down despots of foreign lands. But his kryptonite is candy and bread so Kim Jong-un’s demise will have to wait. A very talented boy who will probably have his very own underground lair someday. That or a fully staffed mansion. I will insist that he have a granny pod for me in either.

This constant worry about Covid is starting to gnaw away at the darkest corners of my brain. Is this safe, is that safe, do I have a fever, and oh shit I just licked my finger. We are so used to this new way of being that NONE of us pat ourselves on the back enough for all that we process with each new dawn. I find myself staring out the window A LOT. Just completely dazed out, feeling a little numb. Is that normal? I don’t think it is. But, then again, I’m handling a pandemic party of five. Aren’t I entitled to mindless staring? I think I might be.

With the clocks set back today and the kids all hyped on sugar, I await the inevitable crash that is just moments away. Early to bed for them tonight and early to bed for me. It has been one of those days where the sky matched my mood and tried, in vain, to make me pivot to the dark. Then I had lunch with the best of best friends, the kids came home, my brother stopped by, and rain finally started to fall from the clouds that had been threatening all day. Rain can feel so cathartically necessary sometimes; you can feel the earth begging for it and you need it just as much. It is coming down hard now and the sound envelops my little house as bedtime approaches. A little sugar with a side of rain can cure a whole lot. I remain hopeful that better days will one day be. In the meantime, there are lots of fun size candy bars and wine here if you need. Who knows? Johnny Rose just might answer the door when you knock.