DEAR ROBIN,
I hope you remember that this coming December 31st is a very special day. I know you won't forget, you will be remembering a very special man in your life, and what he meant to you.
Dear old Dad would have been 90 this year.
Oh such great memories of the first man you ever loved. You were his 1st born daughter, #1 of four . You were Dad's favorite, but let's keep that just between us. Your three brothers won't give it a thought.
Just the day before, December 30, 2019, the newest member of the crew arrived, Jordyn Olivia, # 7, a beautiful baby girl. So that makes 6 grand daughters and ONE grandson.
2019 should be sooth sailing into the New Year...2020.
Happy New Year 🍾
After the whirlwind of Christmas celebrations on the farm, the kids and grandkids slowly packed up to return home to get busy with the new year, school, work, a busy life for sure, but happy and HEALTHY, a blessing.
January 2020 just flew by, as we prepared for the winter vacation at the end of the month. Florida was the destination, with several stops on both coasts. The plan was to be out of the cold weather of Upstate NY for six weeks. You would return in early March in time to tap the sugar maple trees to make syrup.
Perfect right? Wrong. By the time you returned to the homestead, NYC was the hotspot of the world with a new virus, Covid-19. A sense of dread fell over you, you were glued to the tube, information was needed.
The news kept getting worse, this virus was now a full blown pandemic. Who would have ever thought you would be faced with such a thing in your "golden" years.
Knocking on wood became a daily thing with you and your hubby. If the phone didn't ring with bad news, you were knocking. Facetime became the only way to see the family. Strict rules had to be followed. There would be no interstate driving.
At first it wasn't so bad, or at least that's what you thought, heck, you live in the mountains pretty much alone, hardly any covid cases here. NYC was on fire with this virus, but Upstate seemed to be safe. Problem was, you couldn't see the family, they were in New Jersey, just 25 miles from NYC and they were catching fire too!
Thinking of your children, you worried about their exposure to this horrid illness that was taking so many lives. You had to come to grips with the fact that three of your kids were FRONT-LINE health care workers, one was a teacher, the oldest son was self-employed.
Shut it down!
By the end of March, the shut downs began. The grandkids were done with school, had to adjust to on line learning, my daughter-in-law had to quickly learn new software to teach her students on the computer, and already signed contracts for custom carpentry ground to a halt.
Remember the day you just sat down and cried, missing the family so much, but worse yet, hearing there was no relief in sight. It took months of adjusting to this new way of life.
The silver lining.
Your partner, your friend, your hubby, so thankful you chose this man. 
Spring arrived and the covid numbers were coming down, some restrictions were lifted, the warm weather blew in. The world was learning more about this virus and vaccines were being developed.
Hope, with fingers crossed, became your new mantra. Plans were devised to see the family, but only in small doses, keep your circle small and that's what y'all did.
So far, so good, it's working.
You gave up on the big Thanksgiving Family dinner, which hurt a bit, now you'll face a first for sure, a Christmas without your children. But you will not be alone like so many others you know.
Be thankful and joyful, this is not the end, rather a new beginning, with your old best friend.
Happy Holidays sista, put a smile on your face. Your blessings are many. Listen to your heart, be happy, content and hopeful, cuz 2021 is going to be a great year, you'll see.
Lots of Love, ME