Yes. Although I feel we have all been collectively holding our breath, here we are still waiting – waiting for the anxiety to dissipate, waiting for our turn for the vaccine, waiting for the world to open back up, and waiting to see how this life will change when we are all a bit safer. The past year has been weird and challenging, but I’m tired of spending energy thinking about the pandemic and ready to look toward the future. I’m going to focus on imagining a future where we can visit friends and have them visit, travel, eat out, dance, and hug each other without the threat of death. It’s going to be great, isn’t it?

I hear that people are already mobbing the airports and rushing out to get their spring break on, but we’re going to chill and wait for a bit longer. The current strategy is to wait until several of our friends (cohort group) in San Francisco have been vaccinated. That will be a pretty good indicator that we should be able to get one. Next we’ll pack up the car/trailer and head north for a much anticipated road trip. Vaccine will be first, then we’ll travel up to Washington to visit family/friends and get our licenses renewed.

Plus, I recently took a short term contracting gig (~4 months) which should start in a week and I would prefer to get through that before we embark. Paperwork is signed, I just need them to ship the laptop. So if the vaccine timing works out, we will probably head north in August after that contract ends. And yeah yeah yeah, you might all be thinking that I didn’t even make it a year without working, but I was close. The extra money is always helpful, and it will serve as a good distraction to get through the next few months.

Like many others, we’ve decided to do some home improvement projects while we are waiting. We finally got around to having a garage built. Most homeowners start with a garage here, and I can see why. The sun is harsh and she will eventually destroy anything left out for long periods of time – including car paint jobs. A garage is also handy for when we do finally get to leave: a protected and secure place to put stuff we don’t want stolen. It is mostly complete – just needs a door and windows.

As an afterthought, I also pulled the trigger on a shade structure for the pool patio that I’ve been mulling over for a while. We have this awesome system of shade sails that Switch fashioned which we’ll still use in the summer, but I wanted something more permanent and sturdy enough to hang hammocks. This one will be a combo of saltillo tile at the base, concrete pillars and beams with palo de arco (woven sticks) for the shade. I’m already envisioning warm afternoons swinging in the breeze, tucked into a good book while watching the whales play in the ocean and the birds bathe in the pool.

Once these construction projects are complete, I will feel we have nearly “finished” the house. Those of you who have owned a house know that they are never finished, but there seems to be an event horizon where the remainder is little adds and “nice to have’s”. After these projects, we need to grade and gravel the driveway, clean up the lower yard and finish the upper pathways, and buy some furniture. So close!

The rest of our life feels like groundhog day, but we’re trying to fill it with healthy activities like surfing, hiking, reading, cooking, art making, gardening etc. I’ve recently realized (took me long enough) that it isn’t healthy to beat myself up for things I’m not getting to, so I’m letting myself off the hook for feelings that I haven’t spent as much time as I wanted on some activities and instead trying to celebrate the successes. My sourdough and hand-made pasta skills are getting better, I’ve managed to reduce my alcohol intake, I have a daily yoga practice going and I am still going boogie boarding/surfing even though the water is colder than my comfort level allows. I’m going to call that some major wins. We’ll see if I can keep all that up when I start my job.

I’ll leave you with a picture of the first major harvest of my garden. Believe it or not, it is nearly tomato season here, and I’m loving it!