Diane is back in town!

The photo is from an event Diane and I did a couple of years ago for Blueprint Medicines. Back in the day, when we could still do events.

I moved to Amesbury, MA in December of 2019. I was escaping a bad housing situation (landlords, oh landlords) and also moving across the street from one of my best friends (Diane) at a time when I could use a best friend close by.

And then the bloody pandemic struck. Diane, who is also living with stage IV lung cancer, made the decision to relocate to her home in Maine, where she would be more isolated/protected. I totally understood but was also heartbroken.

Truth is, even if she had still been across the street, we would not have been able to interact.

Diane is the reason I was able to get vaccinated when I did–as she got me on a list for end of the day (no shows). It would take weeks longer to find a similar situation for herself.

Anyway, last Monday she was two weeks out from the second vaccine and moved back across the street. And my happiness quotient immediately went way up.

My bubble remains a small one but damn–after a year of near total isolation, hugs are golden. And now my three kids have all gotten their first vaccine. When he is two weeks out from his second, my oldest son will be flying in for a much overdue visit.

The bleakness of the past year is slowly leaching away. In its place, buds, birds and blooms. Spring. And hope for a slow and measured return to something akin to normal.