A New Redo
Last summer during one of the ebbs of the corona virus I took Dea away for a four-night trip to Connecticut, for the first time out of New York City. It was ideal weather and I couldn’t wait to get a short break from the city. On the second day there I had a freak accident of which I still don’t understand why or how it happened, but the joint below my big toe became so swollen and inflamed, I couldn’t walk and even lying down in bed was too painful. I was in agony and it was as close to level 10 pain as I had ever felt.
I was alone with Dea in a hotel in Ct.! For the first time ever, I hadn’t brought with me any of my usual “what ifs” such as Advil or even Tylenol, and the hotel concierge said that I needed to go to the ER because I was in too much pain. Dea came with me in her Sherpa bag, and we were in the ER until 5 AM-finally being sent home with one pain pill and an incorrect diagnosis (it was not pseudo- gout) but rather “trauma” to the joint. That same morning, we returned to NYC. It was awful, scary and exhausting.
Last week, Dea and I bravely travelled back to the same hotel in Ct. for a new two-and-a-half-day getaway. That may not sound stressful in the least, but for me it was a necessary do-over otherwise I might continue to think about the dreadful experience from the previous summer and never go back. I have become the kind of person who needs to get back up as quickly as I can after a figurative fall or a real fall so I knew it was fundamental to return to this lovely get away an hour from the city. I had to rewrite the script of the last summer, no matter what it took. Some people thought it was brave including the wonderful hotel manager with whom I had become friends. She couldn’t believe that we would ever return there after what happened last summer. We did.
However, this time, I packed all the usual “what if’s” I could think of for both me and Dea. I felt as if I had packed an entire pharmacy. I was determined to not let anything hamper this needed two-and-a-half-day trip. I even packed a can of special food for Dea just in case she had any stomach disturbances. She didn’t. Read more
I’ve had such a craving for something for a while. No, it’s not a moist rich piece of chocolate cake or perfectly al dente and succulent spaghetti carbonara. And while it is good news that we are able to remove our masks outside, if fully vaccinated, it wasn’t that longing either.
This past Valentine’s day was unsurpassed. I was allowed to try and book a covid-19 vaccine appointment on-line on the city and the state-run sites. It would be the best Valentine’s gift ever (and for me that is special because my middle name is Valentine- yes, it’s true). I even began to imagine being able to travel again, maybe going back to see my friends in glorious and gorgeous Italy, one day soon. I got up extra early and offered for my dogter, Dea, to sleep in but she was up with me ready to play. At 8 A.M., the site officially opened to those who have comorbidities, and I was at the ready, my first needed cup of coffee in hand.
I sometimes wonder what the point is of dating during the pandemic. Sure, there are many reasons to try because in lockdown or even now, in NYC so many of us feel isolated at times and eager to connect with others. However, if I am being honest with myself, this “new normal” during the pandemic isn’t much worse than the “old normal” dating days of on- line dating pre- covid-19 where hoping for a good relationship and wanting to trust that the person is authentic, is always paramount. So that has not changed even though our world has.
From an article by Alison on ThriveGlobal.com
My amazing dog, Dea had an appointment yesterday morning. SHE got an appointment at her “doggie hairdresser” or groomers. Wow is she lucky even though she pretends it is a day of doom and gloom. But this time, during the covid-19 pandemic, it was like she was a secret agent being passed into a safe house. When we arrived at the store for her appointment, as Dea and I were waiting outside, I called the store to tell them we were there and then a hand wearing a glove suddenly appeared as it stretched itself outside the door to take Dea’s leash from me. The door closed and Dea was safely ensconced inside. It happened so quickly that Dea didn’t have time to react as she usually does with her sudden worrying behavior, that she knows pulls at all my mommy heart strings every time, to get her out of there- that is until the second I leave. From that moment on, her body posture and tail raise up and she begins to play with the handler. What a little actress she is. (They tell me that every time I come to pick her up when she is finished). 
No, not a real fever where one is very sick, especially now, but rather a dancing disco fever. I was a disco queen in my late teens and early twenties and I am not embarrassed to admit it. Dancing made me happy and I would go into another world and dance away most of the night. Over the years so many of my boy- friends made fun of me for my love of disco music. But, who is laughing now? I live in NYC as we are all in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic and I am so thankful that I kept many of my 70’s disco dancing albums, especially Saturday Night Fever where one can dance to almost all the music on the album by the Bee Gee’s, Tavares, The Tramps singing Disco Inferno and really let loose with Ralph McDonald’s Calypso Breakdown. 
As I was going out today to buy fish at a local market on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, of course donning a mask and gloves, due to the corona virus, there was already a line outside stretching half way around the block, as we distanced ourselves six feet from one another.