It was a year ago that I was writing about this new pandemic. The uncertainty of it. The curve ball it was starting to throw into our long planned journeying. We knew so little then. I’m not even sure the runs on toilet paper had started and we certainly weren’t arguing about masks. At this time last year so many people were still with us, may their souls rest. And now there’s a lot of hope… for vaccines and treatments and significant reduction in the probability that a COVID diagnosis might be a death sentence for those at high risk, or elderly or even those who aren’t.
Sure, our travels these days are mostly from bedroom to kitchen to home office to treadmill and back. It is exciting stuff but not exactly blog-worthy.
We’ve saved money and gone back to work because we were able to, luckily, and for something to do and for socialization. We are both very thankful for those opportunities. There’s only so many books to read and Netflix shows to binge watch after all.
And while we are certainly disappointed that our traveling was put on hold, we did make the best of it. We’ve really worked on learning Portuguese with twice weekly lessons, reading, Duolingo, homework etc. and we’ve increased focus on diet and fitness. We and I explored a lot of new hiking trails in the Colorado mountains last summer and fall and we’ve kept up our exercise routines all winter.
And now, as we get closer to vaccination opportunities we are actually starting to make plans for what comes next. Next, when we can leave the house. Next, when we can visit family. Next, when we can go to a restaurant (albeit masked, for a while) with friends or even just each other. Next, when we can return to our place in Portugal and practice all of those words, tenses and expressions we’ve been practicing for over a year now in real life scenarios. Next…
The Traveling Ridleys: Sunday Journal 