A Smooth Finish
Cheers to you, 2022.
When we popped your top, we had no idea just how intense and robust you would be. We rang in your New Year with a newborn and COVID; quarantined in our house, learning how to be family of five, as we all fell like dominoes. You were mercilessly dry in the beginning, almost bitter, but it was there we found hints of velvety sweetness in your complexity.
You gave us a baby who went from soft coos to smiles to belly laughs, (Is there anything better?) You gave us the proudest moment in the Spring, when our son drew his first circle after two full years of occupational therapy. You gave us full-on ugly tears when he wrote his name in the Fall. You gave us the giggles when our daughter discovered a talent for remixing “Ba Ba Black Sheep.” (Go ahead and preorder those tickets, folks!)
You gave me a new dream, of making and creating, and just having fun with words. You even gave me my first self-published children’s book. (I still don’t know if I’d say birthing babies or books is harder.) You gave us so much joy, and plenty of nerves, as we watched friends and family line up to support us and cheer us on. You gave me permission to just do it, whatever it is, even when I’m scared. You even showed me that other folks are out here doing it scared, too, and that maybe that’s the better measure of success.
You gave us heaps of laughter, plenty of growing pains, and pinches of tannic sorrow too. You were full-bodied with a smooth finish, like the Cabernet I got for Christmas, the one I’m raising now. Here is to you!
Salud!
