Though twelve months have passed, the calendar on the wall still reads November, 2020. As the wind rattles the rain streaked windows and the dark arrives before dinner, I can almost remember what it was like, one year ago, when we were confined to this apartment by the highest threat of a deadly virus and the piercing shriek of a newborn. Exhausted, elated and terrified, my husband and I shuffled sleeplessly through the hours by making a million micro decisions, each feeling more like a mountain than a molehill. Though looking down at our new situation was daunting, it was certainly better than looking up - up at an untamed pandemic, up at the changing climate, the crooked politics and the societal unrest all threatening to reach their breaking point, up at the darkness. No, best to look down.

(Recipe for Homemade Hot Chocolate follows)