2021: as we watch the setting sun, we have yet to come undone

The time has come once more to write of yesteryear,
so brew a cup and have a seat and draw a blanket near.

I went searching for some method to write this yearly post,
some clever novelty for our readers coast to coast.

So in a year when we have often lost our sense of time
a simple rule: a post that’s full of couplets that must rhyme.

Shall we begin by winding back the days
to our rose-tinted January haze
as we approached a year of work-from-home
and let our wild imaginations roam.

Another year is here! (our optimistic shout)
The New Year’s Rooster brings donuts about!

While winter carries on (though mild ’round here)
we look to celebrate some birthday cheer
for February loves to set the scene
with two such days, a fortnight in between.

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Though virtual, each had a joie de vivre
that with friends distant, we all could believe
that together, our anxieties relieve;
remind us of the world we knew and grieve.

Among this hubbub, grief would strike a blow
more personal for one we love and know.
A longtime traveler, our feline friend,
the journey of our Princess reached an end.

Soon springtime sprang, the world abud with green
and news that we’d be next for the vaccine!

Soon after that, the kids returned to school
with masks and friends and worries of what’s cool
but with teachers in their very room
(two days a week) instead of just on Zoom.

Let’s pause and truly look at our dear son
who would in May graduate not just one
but two long-term endeavors of his youth.
To scouts! To middle school! Toward teenage truth!

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Soon summer promised a whirlwind East Coast trip!
(but first, Katie cuts off her fingertip)
Too much to say, let’s take a quick detour
and allow this photo gallery to have the floor.

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And that was that, we flew back home with summer done
allowing ourselves a few days of Pebble Beach fun
before a new school year is set to start in-person
with everyone a bit wary in case conditions worsen.

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Thus did the rest of ’21 proceed
and our small foursome did our best to heed
the shifting guidance, though our hopes improved
when vaccines were for under 12 approved.

What hustle we made! Within just three days
(one week after Halloween’s candied craze)
the kids both got a shot in no time flat
(and yes, we also welcomed a new cat)

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That just about wraps up the telling of this
year full of happenings. Let’s see, what did I miss?
Scrumptious holiday meals and plates full of cheese!
Simon has grown into a cutter of trees!

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This year has felt simultaneously so short and so long
and we’re left hoping we did more right than we did wrong
but isn’t that the same trick time plays on us all?
When at midnight, watching the Times Square ball
take just one single minute to wrap up the whole lot,
it’s easy to wonder if you took your best shot.

So here’s to the past! Though it’s time to move on,
we’ve learned that good times are never far gone.
As this poster that Cecily made would say:
may today for us all be filled with Yay! Yay!

and yes fine, I know! You won’t let me go
until I tell our cat’s name: Domino.