Today it’s been one year since the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic was declared. Just by coincidence, today marks two weeks after my second vaccine shot of Moderna. Technically, I'm now protected from serious consequences if I contract the virus. There’s always a slight risk, maybe a little more so because of my cancer and transplant history. However, if I did get the virus but had little or no symptoms, I could also unknowingly transmit the virus to someone else. Even though I feel better protected after getting the vaccine, I’m still planning to follow all the guidelines to keep me and my friends safe: masks, social distance and no large gatherings especially indoors. I hope all of you have gotten your shots or will soon, and I hope you and your family and friends have managed to keep safe and healthy during this trying time.

Some of you may already have gotten this info, but for those of you who haven’t… I was asked to make a short video regarding my book Mother Father Deaf. The international CODA organization (Children of Deaf Adults) just released the video along with 4 others in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the book and the establishment of the annual Mother Father Deaf Day. Mother Father Deaf Day was one of the outcomes of my book. Each year on the last Sunday in April, Deaf parents and their children of all ages have celebrations throughout the world.

To see the videos, here’s a link to the CODA website:

https://www.coda-international.org/MFDDay
Scroll down to see a video by the president of the organization and then 5 short videos (including mine). The interpreters in these videos are using International Sign Language which is typically used in worldwide conferences, events and when traveling outside one’s home country.

Otherwise, I’m doing well. I spend a lot of time walking, hiking and doing “senior” water aerobics. That and housecleaning and gardening. I haven’t felt imprisoned here in the house over the past year because there are so many reminders of Tim. Plus, I do get out every day – whether in the garden or taking a walk. I just put up some paintings by my Mom. After Dad died, I had her paintings shipped to me from Milwaukee. So,I now have art on the walls from Tim and my Mom.

I miss my daily talks with my Dad. It was, maybe, the last real opportunity I had to talk in sign language. I’ve been re-watching an hour video of my Dad from a little over a year ago when he made a video requested by his beloved school for the school's 100th anniversary. Dad was the oldest student still alive at the time. The video is especially poignant for me because they asked me to interpret/voice what he was signing.

The first photo is an etching Tim did. Tim loved to learn about and experiment with so many different media from wood-block prints to photogravure to freehand pencil. The other photo is a pastel of peonies my Mom did when she was at the Art Institute of Chicago. It was one of her favorite flowers in her favorite medium.