There is this joy that comes from an international Zoom call with my little gang

spread out from Austin, to Houston, to London

across the country, across the ocean, across time zones making for a 6 hour time difference

when this happens everything feels like its going to be ok

that even in spite of this pandemic

when I see my kids

lay eyes on them

take their temperatures with my eyes and my heart

all is well.

(personal journal entry from May 6, 2020)

I am beginning a reread of my journal from this last year. This last year of so much being so different. This year of lockdowns, unknowns, new ways of being. I find myself seeking out the times I wrote of “normal”, of things that can and do happen in any other regular time. When I find one of those times, like this one of a call with my children, I remember that embedded in the unknown is the familiar and I breathe and I smile. Yes, we have gotten through this. We are getting through this. I remember to be grateful, to smile, to find and feel the joy of life lived each day. (and thank you Zoom, you are a lifesaver!)