Distilled Spirits

Ted. My sister, Cindy called me a couple of days ago. During our chat, she made the interesting remark that, in their long marriage, she had never felt closer to her husband. The pandemic had forced them to eliminate many of their activities, so she and Leo suddenly had the time to focus on what was most important.

In pondering that statement, I stumbled upon an analogy. Rotting fruit is the basis for wine, a beverage, which countless cultures have grown to love. In many parts of the world, that wine is boiled down to it’s essence; the “ghost” of the fruit in which it’s “spirit” remains. When one considers what has taken place around the world in 2020, many lives have been reduced to the bare essentials. How have each of us reacted to that? 

Winston Churchill famously observed that “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” I typically skip any news headline containing the word “may.” What typically follows is a prognosticator’s worst-case scenario (which rarely occurs). Instead, I look for the small miracles that pop up around us every day. 

Friends, like Micki and Kay are successfully battling cancer. The election in the US has turned out to be pretty normal. Most folks we know who contracted the covid virus have survived unscathed. Many small businesses, like my sister’s are actually thriving. New technologies like Zoom have further shrunk our world. Curbside pickup has sprung up everywhere; a blessing for those of us who abhor shopping. 

OK, so we didn’t get to leave the US, but we were able to deepen our knowledge of our own country and it’s people (yeah, I’m talking about you Samuel Clemens!). Like my sister, I have grown closer, in many ways to friends and family. At its core, one’s life in this world is largely comprised of connections with individuals, like you. 

Our 8-year-old grandson, Caedmon was deeply disappointed two weeks ago when in-school classes were cancelled and he had to return to the loneliness of remote learning. What did that make possible? After a 10-day quarantine, we welcomed him, and our daughter and son-in-law back into our bubble. So last night, on Christmas Eve, we were able to enjoy a Polish tradition, the sharing of opłatki (Christmas wafers). 

Like everyone in the world, our lives have been reduced by this terrible pandemic. What remains, though is a richer, fuller appreciation of what is really important. May we all remember this as we venture forth into a new world in 2021.

Merry Christmas!

Judy sharing opłatki with Caedmon