Throughout the months since last March, I’ve worked on moving forward as best I can. I’ve walked a lot of miles, played a lot of games, taken up a new hobby, started working towards a new profession, and generally continued to remind myself how fortunate … Continue reading Stage Five of Quarantine- Grieving

Of all the things this year has brought, the most abundant offering has been time. I half expected (or perhaps half hoped) at the beginning that I had learned to deal with empty days in my years of seasonal work— growing accustomed to tranquil Januaries … Continue reading Stage Four of Quarantine- Self-Reflection and Reframing

I’m probably beating a dead horse when I say, “I’m an introvert.” But it’s true. I’m really introverted. The older I get, the more at peace I become with my introversion. My social circle is not large. I have a very few close friends and am content. … Continue reading Stage Three of Quarantine- Community

 Back in January of 2019 (a whole lifetime ago), as Dylan and I were planning our trip to New Zealand, it suddenly hit me how many potentially physically challenging things we were adding to our itinerary and how potentially out-of-shape I had become. I had … Continue reading Stage Two of Quarantine: Pilgrimage

The end of March usually brings with it the earnest beginning of the new tour season here in Boston. In past years, I’ve actively looked forward to this shift back into things. When I was working at the chocolate shop in the winter, I was … Continue reading Stage One of Quarantine- Anxiety and Unemployment

Well, that happened. I lost count of the number of times in 2020 I sat down to write and then abandoned the attempt. Every year has stages and seasons, and it seems that, inevitably, whenever I pick a topic on which to write, life has … Continue reading 2020 in Hindsight