A Year After Covid19

Naughty Words's picture

It's been a little over a year since Massachusetts went into lockdown in light of Covid19. The day before lockdown, my husband and I went out to dinner at the Beverly Depot for my birthday. That restaurant is a restored, turn of the 20th century train station. Very unusual and cool place to celebrate my birthday. The next day, we were on our way to becoming agoraphobic. Being cooped up in the house for months on end took its toll. We were both bored and tired. 

That was a year ago. This is now.

Spring is coming up all over. For the first time in nearly two years, my husband and I went for a walk on the esplanade at Gloucester Harbor, Massachusetts. The weather was glorious. Bright, sunny, and pleasant. We haven't been able to walk since the beaches were closed due to Covid. The places we normally went to to walk were also closed. The year before, I had injured my left knee, and I was down for the count that summer and fall - thereby missing my beach walks. I was not a happy camper.

Today, we saw forsythia blooming. Daffodils. Tulips. The crocuses, hyacinth, and snowdrops have already bloomed. Magnolia trees and Bradford pears are flowering. I've repotted some of my herbs. I'm amazed my herbs lasted indoors through the winter. This is the first year most of them survived. I have a three-foot-tall bay laurel plant, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage, marjoram, tarragon, Korean peppers, and a Martha Washington geranium. My lemon tree is nearly three feet tall. I grew that tree from a seed from a lemon from the grocery store. I hope it blooms this time next year.

The wonderful spring weather has greatly improved both my mood and my productivity. I have written three werewolf-themed horror stories for submission calls within the past two months. One was accepted. The other two are still being read. I'm working on a fourth horror story based on the horror movies of director Lucio Fulci. That one is proving to be great fun. I love Italian horror movies. They're over-the-top, colorful, gory fun. I'm almost finished writing my first horror novel. It's slow going, but it's coming along.

Spring to me is a time of rebirth, which is suitable. I'd like to come up with a second fairy tale book, but I'm busy with the horror stories at the moment. I need to choose fairy tales, and then write my own sexy versions of them. I know I can do it. It's just a matter of not procrastinating the way I did during Covid and lockdown. While Massachusetts is still locked up tight, the beaches are open and there is outdoor dining. My husband and I also got our second shots last week. We'll be ready in one more week. Then, we return to The Beverly Depot for come-full-circle dinner. It's a way to commemorate the year. Here's hoping things loosen up soon and we can get back to some semblance of normal, but I know we have a new normal.