Virtually everything was disrupted for me in 2020.
When the pandemic hit, I was notified that at Brown Harris Stevens we were all working from home. No big deal, I thought – I’ve been working from home off and on for years and it’s totally within my comfort level. Then, come April, I was furloughed. No more working – from anywhere – “stay tuned.” Well … OK … I sure don’t mind staying home – it’s actually one of my favorite places to be. I have things I really need to do for Miranda Music – great that I have the time to do it now!
But… no more recording. No more going to shows. No more seeing all my friends. No more shopping in my favorite grocery store (order online & get delivery). No more … almost everything.
Ben got bored silly stuck at home – all the groups he conducted were disbanded, except that the church kept him on the payroll. No choir though. So he decided to continue the renovations that had been begun when I got my reverse mortgage. Ripped up all the carpet, had the floors sanded and then put down polyurethane. Painted the walls. Cleared out the “kids room” in front, put up shelves, and stored stuff in bankers boxes. All of this was good, a great shift.
All along there was Trump. I don’t need to say more.
You wrote a song and asked us to contribute a hope or a dream. I said, “I dream of a world that doesn’t go back to normal.” Indeed. In October it became clear that BHS wasn’t taking me back. I officially retired. No more “work” – period.
And I’m not quite done with “normal.” I think someday there will be a “new normal,” when I move my bedroom to downstairs and Ellie the cat comes along. I hope that will be a new treasure. Right now I am uprooted, waiting for a new place in the ground that I can grow from.