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Beginning in April 2020, I began sending weekly texts to friends and family during the initial Covid lockdown. I was glad to have a purpose on Fridays of sending the painting and its story. This was originally sent December 11th.

For my own curiosity, phone in my pocket, I keep track of my mileage each day at work….5.6 miles, 7.2 miles, 6.8… Only 4.2 miles today. The rain brought relief and I was thankful. My first bathroom break comes about 3:30 pm, followed by a quick bite to eat standing at my post. No more bites, I helped someone and don’t have time to rewash. Those who know me best realize my stomach begins growling around 10:30 am. I’ve been yelled at, cursed at, and argued with -  a daily occurrence. Remaining professional is challenging. These are the times I struggle to practice my kindness always motto. As I drive home, tears are flowing most days. Where have people learned to behave like this? How do I judge a good day - by how much meanness I have encountered. Isn’t this a sad method of measurement?  Only one person was extremely rude today and only two customers linked my gender with not knowing anything about which I speak. Don’t get me started on that one! I am exhausted and burned out wishing the summer away so work will be slower and less stressful. I tell you this not in complaint, I share it so you understand my endless empathy for frontline workers trying to save our loved ones each day. Back in March, I cried along with those on Lester Holt, and my tears are falling again listening to emotional accounts from doctors and nurses who are exhausted beyond belief. They have the added burden of saving lives, while my job is not life sustaining. Their troubles far exceed mine, and I am ashamed for complaining.  Thankfully I have not lost anyone to Covid, though I wonder how long my good fortune can hold out. I have friends who have lost love ones during the pandemic, suffering because they could not always be with them. Most of the people I know are extremely careful and following safety guidelines, though this doesn’t guarantee staying healthy. To escape, we watch reruns of favorite comedy shows - Lucy, King of Queens, and the Partridge Family have been this week’s picks. Last night - a documentary about typewriters. We can’t get much farther from the pandemic than the love of typewriters. I look at the painting of Little Traverse Bay, its colors rivaling those of the Caribbean and long for another summer day when I wished  summer would never end.