Goodbye to all that

I just had my second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

So I’m saying goodbye to all that.

A year of worry, fear, and sympathy for so many who lost so much during this terrible epidemic.

I’m so grateful to so many who sacrificed so much for all of us, so that we could survive.

I hope the end is in sight and that life will return to some semblance of normal.

I find my heart lifting with hope, and my thoughts already turning toward the future, which feels more known than before.

There are great things to look forward to, like instead of getting my groceries delivered, I get to go food shopping.

Yay!

And I’ll have to wash my hair at regular intervals, like a civilized person.

Hmm.

Honestly my hair has never looked healthier.

Also I need to find a bra.

When I got my second shot, I said to the nurse, “Sorry, I’m not wearing a bra.”

She answered, “Nobody is.”

You’re darn tootin,’ sister.

I remember the days I disinfected the groceries. My food was cleaner than my house.

I won’t miss having latex gloves in the car like a serial killer.

I’ll probably still wear a mask from time to time, but I can’t wait to say goodbye to masks. They steamed up my glasses, and in sunglasses, I look like the Invisible Man.

I won’t miss getting my hair colored in my front yard, so cars driving by got a good look.

I won’t miss trying to piece together vital medical information from hacks and quacks.

But what this means for me personally is that Francesca, who has been here for a couple of months off and on during the pandemic, is going back to New York City. Today we’re packing her up, and I have to tell you, I feel sad.

It reminds me of when she went to college, moving away for the first time.

I can’t be the only parent who had an adult child move back in during the pandemic. We’re a family of two, and like the Eagles say, we all we got. And it’s been wonderful having her home, even though it was different from ever before.

She’s older, and has her way of doing things.

I’m older, and I have my way of doing things.

We had to make adjustments, and we did.

Like, for example, she eats dinner late.

I define late as anytime after 4:30.

Like, I watch the clock from 3:30 on.

So we compromised at 7 o’clock.

I can actually compromise!

Who knew?

I look back on my marriages and find myself wondering, if I had compromised with Thing One or Thing Two, would things have been different?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Hell to the no.

I compromised way too much.

To return to point, Francesca and I are both pasta freaks and we love Rao’s tomato sauce.

Don’t tell Mother Mary that we eat sauce out of a jar.

She’ll think she didn’t raise me right.

Anyway I like marinara, but Francesca likes arrabiata.

Evidently, some really do like it hot.

So we bought both.

Compromise is overrated.

And we got to share special times together, like the publication of her first novel Ghosts of Harvard.

Baby’s First Book!

I’m so proud of her, and when the pandemic scuttled her book tour, it was amazing to see her jump on the laptop and conduct her first-ever signings, with charm and pluck.

And there were so many other things we shared during this time, that we wouldn’t have otherwise. Like we binge-watched everything Netflix had to offer, plus all the zillion seasons of The Office.

We figured out Zoom, WebEx, Zencastr, and every online platform you can imagine.

We set up our home studio, and she taught me about ring lights, so I could look like a human being when I had to promote my new book Eternal.

She even drew on my eyebrows.

Our little family business was under one roof, and so was our little family.

We shared a special, wonderful, awful, and horrifying time.

And now she’s going back to New York.

My eyebrows are going with her.

I’ll miss her, but we got each other through.

That’s what family is for.

Love.

Look for Lisa’s best-selling historical novel, “Eternal,” in stores now. Also look for Francesca’s critically acclaimed debut novel, “Ghosts of Harvard,” on sale now.