A brief history of the last three-and-a-half years. 2017 Texas hit by Hurricane Harvey. 2017 Moved. 2017 Lost a job. 2018 Moved. 2018 Lost another job. 2019 Lost another job. 2020 A friend was murdered. And her sons. 2020 And then the rest of 2020 happened. 2020 Moved back to my home state. 2021 Moved again. Sprinkle in a significant amount of relational and religious turmoil, and I am not okay. My friend's memorial nearly a year ago was the last event I attended and the last time I would hug anyone for seven-and-a-half months. We all knew the risks of attending. COVID was confirmed to be in our county. No one was wearing masks yet. No one had any. A few friends had to skip due to health concerns. COVID shutdowns began shortly after. Seven-and-a-half months without a hug while grieving and navigating physically alone. Friends were as present as possible and I cherish the socially distanced hangs and the phone conversations. But I am not good at taking up space. And sometimes when y...
I hope your rambles have been sweet and your reveries spacious. - Emily Dickinson