Around this time last year, we were in Indonesia, enjoying (or suffering through) the extreme humidity, eating delicious exotic fruit and trying new foods every day, breathing in fresh, crisp air and wandering through a beautiful paradise. Every year we’ve been together that I can look back on, we’ve done something super fun somewhere else at this time of year. And this year, when I think of the mini “breaks” I’ve had with Christmas and New Year’s…. I feel…. completely unrefreshed and replenished. It was not a real “break.” It was simply time away from a computer, time away from work email and Slack.

It feels like just another week, another month, another day… with not much light at the end of the tunnel. I have no idea when I will go home to see my family again. I have no idea when we will get on a plane again. I don’t know when I will be able to see Chris’s parents or relatives again. Will I ever get to meet my colleagues in real life? Will I get to leave the country this year? When will I be able to stop wearing a mask outside my apartment everywhere? There are so many things I am not sure about, and I’m trying to keep them all under control and not think too much about the things out of my control now.