Blue-ish Christmas

If anything, my mood this year about the holiday was even worse than it was last year. The continued claustrophobia of working from home and the pandemic wore on my psyche big time. Add to that the losses of my mom in January and Luka earlier in the week and you have a recipe for depression.

Three events came to my rescue, along with love and support from Julian.

• First, the weekly Zoom happy hour less than two hours after Luka’s death. I didn’t know whether I’d be able to attend, given veterinarian schedules. Fortunately, we got back in time for me to crack open an IPA and join.
• Second, the almost-annual Early Morning Lap Swim Breakfast at Burgermaster. This year’s event came the day after Luka’s death. It was a smaller group than usual, but we were still had lively conversations. Our lifeguards were also able to join us.
• Third, the annual White Elephant party. We all needed negative Covid tests to attend. (Julian had bought two home test kits before our aborted Europe trip, which were still good to use.) Fourteen of us feasted on brisket and other goodies. Our contributions were potato latkes made with gluten-free flour and applesauce. I used a recipe out of the latest edition of Joy of Cooking for the former. Lizard on a Stick did not make an appearance. My gift was a Goat Yoga game (see below), complete with inflatable goat. Julian got socks, Mexican chocolate, and candies.

As a result, I’m feeling better. Here’s hoping the world can get the pandemic under control so we can resume having normal holiday get-togethers.