A surprise! Pengo Janetto (niece) is in town! Well, not exactly in town but close enough to the Great Lake State border on a cross-country drive to nip up to the Mouse House for the night. I knew she was stateside via social media (she lives in Hawaii) but didn’t really know her total plans. I try to keep my nose 99% OUT of the younger generation’s business.

Did I want to drive out to the Mouse House for a visit? Hmmm… I *think* everyone who would be in attendance is vaxxed but I’m still working on coming out of my COVID shell. And there were other barriers, like driving to the Mouse House involves Mountain Roads (Manchester area) and while Cygnus is definitely capable of that kind of driving, KW is a little rusty at it. Don’t worry, she’ll get back into the swing.

But about that COVID shell. I am an introvert. That doesn’t mean I don’t like to get together with other people and gossip and yak. But those things take psychological energy and this last year has been reeeaallly nice in the sense that I’ve been able to sit back and conserve that kind of energy big time. And reflect on life although I can’t even put that into words to myself yet. Suffice it to say I wasn’t really chompin’ at the bit to get out and socialize although there are some people and restaurants, etc., that I miss.

So I have mixed emotions about returning to “normalcy” (not that I think COVID is over). I had similar issues with the vaccine. There was never one iota of doubt in my mind that I would GET vaxxed. But boy oh boy, I was kinda petrified to actually get it done. In the end it was my grokkery worker daughter who bird-dogged getting appointments for both of us and we went together. That was a good thing and she empathized with my mixed emotional state, saying she found that to be a pretty typical reaction among her friends and colleagues.

I *will* get out into society. I’m already working on some carefully planned grokkery runs and am thinking through safe space-sharing at the moomincabin this summer. I am going to continue to take a break from people I love but don’t understand their polly-tickle views. I guess that’s one thing I’ve reflected upon during my year of, uh, reflection. I know Pengie will understand if I don’t join the rest of them tonight. If she can make it back to the mainland and up to the yooperland this summer, I hope I’ll see her then. She’s one of the folks I miss.

On keeping outta the younger generation’s business? A twitter play:

Setting: the Landfill
Characters: Mouse (3rd grade) and KW
Background: Mouse has been assigned a joint prodject with “one of those others who is NOT a girl” but KW only knows that because Mr. K (of Multiplication Blues fame) told her.

Act 1:
KW: How’s that school prodject going?
Mouse: *You* KEEP yourself OUT of my BUSINESS!
End (and KW is ducking for cover🐽)

P.S. This is my usual disclaimer that I live a privileged life (albeit in a humble kind of way) that has allowed me to hang out in my house ordering food and supplies via curbside pickup and delivery, earning money the whole time. Not everyone has been able to do that. Our essential workers (including grocery workers) are heroic.

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