Doesn’t it seem like the seasons fly by,
But the years that the seasons are part of don’t try?
It feels like this bridge has seen more than it oughter
Of flotsam beneath it…if weeks were like water
And we’re on a bridge looking down at the year
Rushing rapidly past…is this metaphor clear?
I’ll put it another way: It’s been a minute
Since I’ve tried to write a recap. Let’s begin it:

Last time I wrote, our big upcoming plan
Was the 10th anniversary half-Ironman
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, where we’d never been
Before March 2020. [Dun-dunhhh!] We checked in
To our Airbnb on Condado Lagoon
On Thursday, March 12th, just a bit before noon.
Lo cancelaron tres horas después.
(I was glad not to race in such heat, I confess.)

Siri had just landed full-time employment
When Covid put paid to in-office enjoyment
Of County bureaucracy. Turns out red tape
Adheres nicely remotely! (There is no escape.)
She and Josh survived close-quarter lockdown, and so
When restrictions were eased they gave marriage a go.
She broke up with that bad county gig, though, and now
She gets paid teaching penguins to act! (Ask her how.)

Iain found lockdown a tad stultifying
Alone with two cats in Canoga. Decrying
The long-distance thing with his paramour, Devon,
He packed up and moved to Chicago. It’s heaven
To live in a place where you don’t need a car,
Not to mention a partner who’s not very far!
He still works remotely for Bix Pix, who may
Or may not be aware he’s escaped from L A.

In-person schooling stopped cold for a bit,
So the teacher’s-aide substitute biz took a hit
Which led Kari to focus her energies on
Lockdown-friendly activities: Saving the lawn
And the rest of the yard from benign-ish neglect,
Though a task herculean, was one side effect
Of the need to keep our unique viruses near
And unswapped (which worked well till November this year).

As for me, I lucked out: I still work for the State,
But my office is fully remote, which is great.
Thirty years in, I’m prepared to say bye
If they call me back in without good reasons why.
I’m still running and swimming and biking, just slower
Than back in the days when my age group was lower,
But if we’ve learned anything since 2020,
It’s being alive with our loved ones is plenty.

Happy Whatever You Celebrate, and
If this contact’s uncomfortable, I understand!
Maybe I’ll try to write sooner next year,
But don’t count on it.
Be safe, and live without fear!