Monday - 199th

Sometimes I think it's all in how you frame the question. Here are three versions of this query:

Would you make an effort to watch the northern lights?
Would you travel to, say, Norway to watch the Northern lights in a comfortable spot in pristine wilderness?
Would you go out after midnight if someone told you that you live in a geographic region that might witness the northern lights tonight?

I'd answer "yes" to the first. It's a hypothetical that doesn't commit me to anything. You bet, I'd like to see those lights!
I'd answer "it depends" to the second: I mean, how comfortable is the viewing spot? Will I be treated to a good meal before and after? Will someone be traveling with me?
I'd answer "no" to the third. I want to get a good night's sleep! It's cold today. Forget it.

[In fact, I did read that we may have the privilege of seeing the lights tonight and the idea of getting out of bed and perhaps driving to a spot without light pollution, even if it's just minutes away, does not appeal to me at all.]

Perhaps this is a good introduction to the shift we have had in our weather patterns, starting yesterday and surely continuing into this day. It's cold and wet. I walk quickly to feed the animals, trying to ignore the drizzle. No stopping for weeding this morning.






Breakfast? No question. In the kitchen.






And here's a wonderful activity on a cold Monday: a Zoom meeting with my Polish friends.





Inevitably we talk about the virus: raging infection rates in Wisconsin, somewhat increasing numbers in Poland. It's interesting to talk to people who are apprehensive about being where you are right now! Still, as always, we all come back to the subject of our grandkids. For all of us, I think, the necessary precaution feels endless, especially since kids grow so quickly. To miss a year (more?) in their lives (especially for those, whose kids live and work abroad) is beyond tough.

Curiously I am more optimistic about a slow return to better times in 2021. Or maybe it's because we, here, have been lead to believe that there will be a vaccine and that we will get it and that's fantastic, except, well, what about the others? Those grandparents who, too, miss their grandkids dreadfully?  I'm told Poland is all out of the flu vaccine, even as only a tiny portion of the population has been vaccinated.

Very quickly I am reminded of yesterday's topic of "good countries." Remember? Shouldn't we worry equally hard about the hardships of others, even if those others live outside our boundaries?

On a happy note, all my Polish friends are well, some are even traveling, others are as cautious as Ed and me. But we are all grandparents. We want the same thing: safe contact with our grandkids.