2021 started out with a call every day.

Then every third day.

Then every Sunday. And this wasn’t a bad thing.

It seemed that with vaccine rollouts, a semblance of the life we once knew may one day return and daily safety check-ins over the phone weren’t necessary. We wanted to be busy and invested in anything but talk of COVID-19. We anticipated seeing each other in person. While remaining cautious, plans were made. Holidays booked. The excitement I felt at getting to spend Christmas with family for the first time in years made me giddy and just earlier this week, I was packing my carry-on to see if all the additional gifts I bought (and didn’t mail in advance) would fit. They did, but barely.

Alas, forty-eight hours later, it wouldn’t matter because travel is once again being cautioned against and spending the holidays with loved ones is cancelled for the second year in a row.

Time is both infinite and a limited resource. The longing for normalcy feels increasingly arduous. And we can’t do anything but wait.