Summer 2020 on Mute

Author and husband, July 2020

Congratulations dear reader, you made it through Summer 2020, the summer on mute. 
Or the "Bummer Summer" as some family members have dubbed it.

Every year at this time, I do a quick recap of the summer months, mostly because I haven't posted much in July and August. I wasn't expecting to have much to share this year due to COVID, but when I look back, I find it wasn't a completely uneventful summer.

It was just quiet. Muted. 

So, here are 5 moments to share with you, from the summer on mute:

1. 30th Anniversary, early July.  It wasn't three weeks in England like we had planned, but we did go back for the day to the small Ontario town where we were married. We stood on the steps of the little church and remembered all our friends and family there with us in July 1990. It was hot, quiet, and kind of a romantic day, which surprised us.

New cottage, new dog, same lake

2. New cottage, new baby. We visited a friend's new cottage and met their new grandchild, the first for our group of friends from university. I kept having flashbacks all day, of the baby's father when he was an infant and the last set of grandparents who inhabited that space in the old cottage. I realized as I sat there watching the baby go from hand to hand, that we're all connected through time, regardless of where we are in space. And babies are cute. (We had all quarantined, were outdoors, and stayed masked btw.)

3. Niagara-on-the-lake is peaceful. We also had a few visits to my daughter in NOTL, where I read a lot and looked at Toronto (my hometown) across the bottom end of Lake Ontario. 

Toronto is out there!

4. Edited, wrote and did some magazine work. The world does go on, and I managed to do a live online presentation in June (I start at 43 minutes), edit an upcoming book in July (more to come about Firefly), and work on a sequel to Oculum the rest of the time. I also did some magazine work in September, for Canada's History magazine, which was very welcome.

Peel Virtual Forest of Reading Presentation

5. I had another birthday. A nondescript, middle-ish of the decade birthday, but what was noteworthy is that I spent it among friends, after we all quarantined and/or knew our COVID status for various reasons. It was fun, and when we took our masks off to eat cake, almost normal.

I also went kayaking, played guitar around a campfire, and walked or worked out at home, every day.

Keeping the kids out of
the birthday cake!

So there it is friends, my summer on mute. I hope you're all coping okay, and that you found some unexpected joy in the
Great Muting of Summer 2020.

As the kids head back to whatever school looks like this year, and for however long it lasts, I'm pleasantly surprised to realize it's okay to be quiet. And muted. At least for a while.

PD/September 2020

Socially distanced author playing guitar around the campfire.
Until next summer everyone ...