Galiano Here I Come

I’m just recovering from a bout with Covid, having managed to evade it for over 3 years. I contracted it on Mother’s Day when my stepmom, Gail, started feeling rocky toward the end of brunch. She went home, tested herself, and found out she was positive. Three of the six of us other than Gail at the brunch were infected. I had a difficult several days and then rallied quickly, even without Paxlovid, but am left with no sense of smell and a reduced sense of taste. I’m hoping this is only temporary and my full faculties are restored soon. Not being able to taste John’s cooking this summer is a bleak thought.

I leave tomorrow for Portland for a visit with Kelsey and Garet and then onto Galiano where John and I will spend our first summer in our newly acquired island retreat. John’s dog, Moose, who usually lives with his son in Vernon, BC, will be with us all summer. I’m very excited for the new experience, even if a bit apprehensive about island fever. However, we were there for two weeks in March, and my main reaction was how much I loved just looking out at the view of Active Pass and all its sea life. I’m bringing my binoculars and John has his scope set up on a tripod so I expect it to be an amazing summer of wildlife viewing.

I’ve always thought of myself as a city mouse much more than a country mouse so this will be a real experiment for me. One can only spend so long nurturing Early Girl tomatoes and chard! Trying to live in two places has a number of challenges including putting one’s “other” life on hold whenever moving to the alternate location. My life in Berkeley has changed since before the pandemic as I’ve started several new activities including pickleball, singing as a tenor with the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus, and training to be a SF City Guide. I will need to leave behind these activities and the new friends I’ve made through them until I return in the fall.

I worry that my friends, old and new, might forget about me. Having spent months away before, I know that the “out of sight, out of mind” saying comes true to an extent but I also know what to do to reverse it. Upon my return, I must take the initiative to re-engage because I am the one who was gone for so long. I am clear on what to do so that my friends know that I still want them in my life even though I am becoming one of those people who is “gone for the summer.”