Marching On

March 21, 2023

Happy third birthday to this very blog!

I started Driftless Grace in the first week of COVID lockdowns. It was a way of creating something positive from the chaos while also finally making good on my threats to start a blog. Since then, it has developed into a crucial part of my identity: I am Driftless Grace, and I write Driftless Grace. Make sense?

The last three years have been trying at times and magical at others, and often both at once. But it has always helped me to know that the thoughts and experiences collected here were being read by someone on the other end of the Internet. This, more than anything else, is what I was hoping for back then.

I’m surprised at how little I remember from the lockdown days. I can barely believe that we all spent several months at home, with almost everything outside of our homes closed or canceled. It was a difficult adjustment, which might explain the gaps in my memory. Now, I’m not even sure which parts of my routine are left over from the pandemic and which were always there.

This afternoon, while taking my daily walk around town, I noticed what I thought were ashes falling from the sky. Tiny black specks that weren’t there yesterday drifted down around me. I smelled smoke on the air and thought that maybe a burn pile had gotten out of control. After a longer time than I care to admit, I realized I was seeing the year’s first crop of gnats. This winter has lasted so long that I almost forgot the entire concept of insects. (It wouldn’t be the first time.)

The world will never see a full return to “normal” after COVID. As we adjust, it will take time to regain our senses and our confidence in what’s coming next. I’m personally hoping for three more years of this blog – and three more of you out there reading it.