Wednesday, 08-Apr-2020

 

Well, we’re not doing an in-person Seder this year, I’ll tell you that.

Instead, We’re going low-key – Matzos Ball soup and roast chicken for dinner tonight, possibly even with Latkes and asparagus on the side.  Then, this weekend, we’ll do a family Seder via Hangouts (or Zoom, or whatever video conferencing technology the cool kids are using these days.

 

For today, though, I took the day off from work.

The plan for the year involved quite a few major trips – Sarah and I hadn’t gone on any full-week climbing trips last year, so this year was supposed to make up for that.  I’d gotten an extra two weeks of vacation as a benefit, and we were planning on burning those vacation days up in Colorado, Joshua Tree, New Hampshire, and who knows where else.  Friends would visit, we’d visit them, and we’d be all-around jet-setting cool kids.

Instead… COVID-19 hit, the stock market imploded, and we’re under stay-at-home orders when I’m not going into work as an essential employee.

So I took a day off.

And you know what?  It was an amazing decision.

 

The weather seemed to know that today was a day for being outside, and being calm.  No wind, no rain, just beautiful sunlight and clear skies.  I took my bike out from the garage, and went for a long ride down the empty streets.

With the city being under semi-lockdown, there wasn’t traffic, and almost everyone I saw (and it wasn’t very many) was simply sitting.  Some kids were quietly playing, and a lot of people were mowing their lawns… or more accurately, a lot of people had yard workers mowing their lawns for them… but still, the sound of lawnmowers was ubiquitous.

It was gloriously calm and serene, just slowly pedaling around the city.

 

I don’t think have any other words to describe how relaxing it was, so I’ll fill in the details with photos.  Sit back, relax, grab a glass of iced tea, and enjoy.