Many of us are glad, or at least relieved, that 2020 is over. So much stress. Not enough connection. Too much baking. Not enough joy. As we turn our attention to the new year, what can we look forward to for ourselves and those we love?
- Vaccinations. It looks now like they won’t come as fast as anyone would like, even for those of us who are next in line (more front line workers and those of us who are over the age of 75). Of course there are people from many walks of life, and many ages who will resist the vaccine, no matter where they are in line, so they’re not looking forward to being vaccinated. When the latest group was announced, just before Christmas, the estimate for vaccinating this group was “as early as the end of February.” Now it seems likely that the end of February might actually be the end of May. So be it. When it happens — and I hope it happens this year — my 86 year-old husband and I will plan a trip to London, one of our favorite places, and a place where we have immediate family. We love London’s museums, large and small theater, great restaurants and music. I plan to eat at one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s fancy restaurants, Nopi or Rovi, and then to scour his cookbooks to try to cook some of what I’ve eaten. Almost all of what I’ve eaten in his Mediterranean restaurants, or cooked at home, has been heavenly.
- Well, I guess I’ve just previewed travel. I used to tell anyone who asked where I wanted to go next, that I loved to travel anywhere from Sioux Falls South Dakota to Belgrade, Serbia. Many of us want to get out of Dodge. I’m not a fan of Caribbean cruises (or any warm weather vacation cruises, for that matter), but I am a fan of river cruises on almost any river, and I’m thinking South America might be next. I love the small populations on river cruises, love that you get off the boat almost every day and see the countryside, the people, the towns, the cathedrals. This is something my husband and I can do together. Sometime in the next few years I’d like to take my grandson to India — to places I haven’t been — Kolkata, the far north, maybe Mumbai again. If India isn’t possible, I’d take him to Kenya, not just to see the animals but to see and meet the people. When I was last there I told the guide that it was the first place I’d visited that I didn’t want to leave. I did leave, but I want to go back. My grandson has been to many urban centers with his parents and his aunt. I’d like to invite him to see parts of the world that aren’t so shiny and pretty, but that represent long histories and great cultures.
- Drawing, painting, producing any kind of art or craft. I’ve taken several Zoom art classes over the last year. They, perhaps more than anything else, have kept me sane. But there is nothing like a live class with a live instructor who can stand behind me and notice what I’ve done well as well as what I can’t quite do yet. My outdoor drawing class was canceled. My life drawing class is from photographs. I don’t think I’ll ever be really good at drawing naked bodies. I just don’t get the proportions right. But I love to draw faces and want to learn watercolor. My adult daughters gave me watercolor crayons for Christmas and I want my Berkeley instructor Danny to show me how to use them. You Tube videos are nice and I can watch them over and over, but there is something about watching a real working artist create that just doesn’t translate to video. Others, like my brother, want to return to building or making things like crown molding and paneled doors.
- Cooking. We’ve all cooked more than before, I suspect. I’m not the only one immersed in making snack cakes and sheet pan dinners. I’ve just returned from a week with my oldest daughter, son-in-law, and grandson, during which time we ate the most fabulous dinners every night! Sous vide tenderloins, both beef and pork, a wonderful tumeric tofu dish with sticky rice, my own orecchiette with bacon and peas, and pork chili with hominy. Do you get the idea that they are adventurous eaters? They certainly are. I have suffered both complicated cooking and been so tired of cooking that I thought cold cereal sounded pretty good. I’ve subscribed to one of the food kits for three dinners a week. For those three nights I have no more than 15 minutes of prep of fresh ingredients I didn’t have to plan. I want somebody else to cook for me, inside, with white linen napkins. I know I’m not alone.
- Finally, I look forward to real connection with real people. Again, so many have said or written the same thing. I’ve been luckier than most over these last months. I have two friends I’ve continued to walk with. We don’t drive together. We wear masks, and we walk six feet apart. But we talk. Talking and listening are things I can’t live without. I know some have been relieved not to have to do so much of this over this last year. I am a raging extrovert. Not talking, not interacting, being silent all day most days is not my preferred way of being. No way. I want to sit next to someone, put my arm around them (not just my husband), look into their eyes and have a real conversation. I want to love out loud. That possibility gives me butterflies, and tears.
