Tuesday - 123rd

I don't have to tell you that nothing about this pandemic is predictable or linear. For Ed and for me, life has a great deal of regularity to it because, of course, as ancient people, we are vulnerable and thus we stay isolated. Completely so: we don't go anywhere.

My daughters, too, have managed isolation. All my grandkids are home with parents and all parents are attempting to do the unimaginable before the pandemic: work and care for kids, all at the same time. No one goes anywhere.

I've been able to help out here in Madison and, too, when my younger girl and her family came up for an extended visit in June, I could look after little Primrose for a bit. But the little Chicago girl may be returning to day care soon, resulting in a break in the family's isolation, so before she does, I most definitely want to see her. And so we arranged for me to do a visit, sandwiched into the middle of the week so that the parents can get some work done while I play with Primrose.

The morning is a regular old July farmette morning: animal care and lily snipping. I don't do a perfect job -- I'm in a hurry, but I do manage to tidy things up a bit.





















Breakfast, with Dance hogging Ed's attention.





And now it's time for me to go.

Normally I would take the bus and then the L train to the young family's home in Chicago, but these are not normal times and there's not a chance that I would put myself on either train or bus, especially now that the virus is surging in Wisconsin. And so I'm back to driving.

I don't like driving. Sometime in the last handful of years, I've stopped enjoying or even half enjoying any long distance driving. Over the decades, I must have done the trip to and through Chicago a thousand times and with eyes closed (so to speak), but now it just seems long and stressful. Still, it's drive or walk, and so I put on the music, adjust my mindset to a positive channel and off I go!

And here's a twist: I do the trip through Milwaukee to avoid the toll road. My Illinois Tollway transponder is obsolete and so I have three options: use local roads, or believe that fines will be waved if I drive through without the little gizmo, or stop by the lake where the Madison young family is vegging out for a while and pick up their transponder. I choose the latter. The bonus is that I get to see the kids for a brief few minutes!






And then I get lost somewhere between lakes and cornfields and industrial sites and small villages. Yes, I do use Google maps, but I swear, the lady doth steer me wrong!

Eventually I do find the highway...






... and I arrive at my daughter's home just a few minutes before Primrose wakes from her nap.






Parents sequester themselves with their work, she and I plunge into play. Inside and outside.






Primrose is at an age when development zips forward at rocket pace. This isn't the little one I saw a month ago. This is a girl who very much has a will and verbal skills to get her to whatever point she is aiming for. Oh, I can still twist her arm and get a selfie out of the deal...





But she definitely is the leader in much of our play!


In the evening, I throw together a quick dinner for us all. Primrose helps.











This is no time to think about how different this day is from when I was last here in February. And indeed, so much has stayed beautifully in place: the home shines, their lives are full of smiles, because despite all the frustrations and stresses that have been thrown in their lap, being around that little girl old brings out laughter. It's inevitable.





In any case, when we are together, we all tend to focus on the good stuff. And we are lucky because thus far, we've all had plenty of good stuff in each day.

The girl sings herself to sleep, the parents and I linger over a glass of one thing or another. It's so luxurious to catch them during an idle moment, indeed -- for them to even create an idle moment.

I am grateful. For all of it. Super grateful.

With love.