The Ides of April

I’m planning for the 15th of April—all thoughts of tax day aside. I can’t wait to email my friends and tell them to come over. Oh, I have missed our impromptu, hey-are-you-free? dinners when what is served doesn’t count even close to who’ll be there enjoying whatever the menu may be.

It’s going to be an atypical Thursday on the Oregon Coast. I’m calling my order in now. The sun will stream warmly through the big picture windows, and the winds will sigh gently outside. The six of us will gather and gaze at the ocean as we catch up—and we have plenty of that to do!

Although we have had a few opportunities to gather outdoors on our patio, they have been fraught even though socially distanced. Those six feet were not enough to allay the deep-seated concerns of reality: One of us is over eighty; one is undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer; the rest are all over 65.

But on April 15, with everyone fully vaccinated and under the most recently issued CDC (an acronym I never though I’d use without pause)guidelines, we will truly enjoy each other’s presence, the gift of physical proximity restored, and celebrate our ides with joy.