REMEMBERING

 

Florida does get chilly, it's rare but it does happen. And you feel it more intensely if you're a native. We're unused to cold.

This is one of those winters. Evenings I'm attired in my heavy robe & nightgown, along with warm snuggy boots, plus a big wool turban on my head. To top it off I'm bundled up in a blanket with the TV remote underneath. -- But I prefer this to the hellish heat and humidity that will be arriving all too soon.

I vividly recall the autumn before the lockdown that came the following March. It's memorable because my friend Irene and I went to lunch together. At that time, we couldn't have envisioned what was just ahead. We believed the pandemic would be over soon. And the very thought of any shortage of tissue, or other paper products along with numerous items was unimaginable! After all the United Sates is not a third world country.

The day before, I saw one person wearing a mask at the supermarket, a rarity at the time. The idea of everyone masking up and social distancing would have seemed bizarre back then.

Irene and I were out to enjoy ourselves despite the weather. Florida was experiencing a rare, early, cold spell that day.

A Greek café was chosen because we both love spanakopita. The place was small with no heat. And inexplicably the overhead fans were on. We were seated under one and moved. In fact we changed our seat several times, but were still cold. And whenever the door opened it felt as if an Arctic blast of air shot thru the room. We ordered coffee to warm us up, however the coffee was cold. We shivered all throughout the meal.

Irene's company was the only pleasant thing about that lunch. She was well into her nineties but possessed a sharp mind and wit worthy of Betty White.

Unfortunately her health continued to decline.

However Irene was blessed to find a dedicated caregiver who became like a son to her. When the lockdown came, he took her and her beloved cat, Millie to his home up in Sebastian to give her the special care she needed.

We kept in touch thru email.

A year ago this month my friend Irene passed away right before Valentine's Day. I sent her a card with a kitten on the cover that she never lived to see.

I mask-up regularly now whenever I'm out. But often I don't leave my house for two weeks. When the pandemic finally ends I fear many of the changes it wrought will remain.

This chilly morning for breakfast I had leftover spanakopita from Publix along with grapes & pitted dates. I thought of Irene.

Someday, on the other side of the veil I hope to see her again along with my other close and treasured friends Pat and Margaret who preceded her in death. I miss them all.