Holiday Greetings 2021
“Life is so subtle sometimes
That you barely notice
Yourself walking
Through the doors
You once prayed
Would open.” -Mounaks
It has been that kind of subtleness this year of 2021. In some ways we were again weathering a storm and in other ways new doors were opening. The pandemic which began in March 2020 seemed to forge its’ way through 2021. There were incremental baby steps forward.
Mike and I continued to shelter in and for the most part led a quiet life together.
We continued to take our daily walks. Often on Sundays we’d go to a quiet, shady place overlooking the bay. We named that special place “our church”. On many hot, summer, weekend afternoons we’d seek solace there to read, to gaze at the beautiful boats sailing on the blue water, and to dream of covid free days.
Mid-year Mike resumed his morning bike rides before starting his work day (still working for Boeing from home). We face-timed with both daughters Aria and Athena and their families almost daily. Sofia turned 6 years in June and both grandsons celebrated their first birthdays. Jude turned 1 in June and Rocco turned 1 in September. Amazing and wonderful to watch all three grandchildren grow and change through the magic of computer screens and photographs and videos. I was able to visit Aria and family in June for Sofia’s birthday and to hold Rocco for the first time. Unfortunately, Mike was not able to make that trip so he has yet to meet Rocco and we have both not yet been able to meet our grandson Jude in person. Jude however knows us and when he sees Mike on face-time will repeatedly say “Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa”. Mike responds each time with a big enthusiastic “Yayyy!” and that eggs Jude on to say it all over again with a laugh and a smile “GRANDPA!”
There are many lessons we continue to learn and for both of us in 2021, a sense of healing of our bodies, minds and souls. The Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist Thick Nhat Hanh said, “Smile, breathe and go slowly”, and that’s exactly what we do.
I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for friendships past and present. I say past because I want to acknowledge the loss of loved ones these last couple of years. I’m sure that kind of loss has affected us all. I thought about a poem I sent in my 2019 holiday letter. This is it:
“Snowflakes swirl down gently in the deep blue haze beyond the window. The outside world is a dream.
Inside, the fireplace is brightly lit, and the Yule log crackles with orange and crimson sparks.
There’s a steaming mug in your hands, warming your fingers.
There’s a loved one seated across from you in the cozy chair, warming your heart.
There is a mystery unfolding.” -Vera Nazarian
If you have experienced a loss, I hope you can imagine that loved one seated across from you in a cozy chair, warming your heart. It’s how I want to remember my loved ones now gone. May we learn to understand the beauty of a new kind of mystery unfolding.
With hopeful hearts may the coming new year be the turning of the tide for us all. May your days be filled with renewal of spirit, enlightenment, wondrous adventures, and most of all may you have a grateful heart.
Happy Holiday wishes from our home to yours!
Love, Barb and Mike Cabot
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