Better Together

12” x 16”; Watercolor and ink on paper; 2021

Like so many others, 2020 fundamentally changed my family’s daily life. My husband started working from home and all three of us were home together every day, bearing witness to each other’s daily lives on a level we never had before. Life took on an entirely different pace. In stark contrast to the rushing and running around we’d been doing, life slowed down. My husband didn’t have to rush out the door in the morning to get to work on time, so we started having coffee together in the mornings. He was home for lunch, so we all had lunch together and took walks or hung out in the yard for awhile before he went back to work. He got to watch our daughter play outside in the yard from the window in his office, and she delighted in having “Dada” home so she could show him her treasures or tell him her stories right away. We started new traditions, like Family Sleepovers, where we all pile into our bed and watch movies and all sleep in our bed together. (Well, at least one of us sleeps!) Our lives started intertwining and weaving together in ways they never had before. As a homebody, I absolutely delight in having my whole brood here together every day, and am eternally grateful for this silver lining.