Quaran-times…

Hi friends, it’s been a minute, hasn’t it?

Like so many, it feels like time just *record scratch* stopped in March, and now it’s July, and the world still feels so topsy turvy. The last few months of working from home, figuring out how to re-enter society (and reopen my library), and maintaining constant vigilance with masks and social distancing feels easier on some days, and insurmountable on others. I’m sure you all feel the same…

Everything just seems to have been more difficult the last few months, no? Trying to concentrate on books… deciding what to make for dinner every.single.day… figuring out what activity might be safe while maintaining a sense of normalcy… all of it.

But in amongst all that fraught fear and worry, we’ve had so many bright spots, and I’ve tried to photograph and memorize them all, knowing that someday we’ll look back on these “quaran-times” and wonder what the day to day looked like.

It’s riding a bicycle for the first time in oodles of years… taking hikes and walks and ambles… it’s snorfling the puppy and watching the snail amble around the fish tank… it’s Easter Egg hunts and fireworks and llama visits to your house (!!)… it’s learning to make a lemon tart through Zoom from a pastry chef in Versailles… it’s birthday flowers… it’s a rotating wardrobe of masks… and it’s having someone hold your hand as you walk into the new normal of the world, masks and all.

Stay safe and well, friends. More missives soon…

(but in the meantime, I’ve been trying – oh, trying – to post recent photos and oodles of book reviews on my Instagram @theloudlibrarian)

–Marissa