Opening

It's a beautiful day, cool for July. I'll take it.

I'm still slogging through depression, but putting one foot in front of the other. 

Pause

I emailed a friend, Carl about how I was feeling, asking how he was doing. He answered in a similar vein. Then he sent me a photo of his chickens. Then he invited me over for tea on the very breezy deck. I went, we talked and watched birds. I met the chickens. It was a lovely afternoon. I felt that he and his wife, Sally understood what I was saying and mirrored it back to me. Leaving, I felt less alone than I have in some time.

I came home, spent some time with the parrot, then went for pizza and beer in Jeannette's front yard. We chatted and commiserated, had pizza and beer. Keith, my plumber drove by, and I waved him over. He joined us for beer and more chat. (All this is socially distanced, of course) Halfway through this conversation, they both realized that he's going to do some work for her. He'd been in her cottage scoping out the job, but she'd been so involved with a project that she barely noticed him. They connected at first through a mutual friend, and Jeannette figured he was just some random guy, not necessarily a professional plumber. So now she'll be happier about his credentials, and now he may bump her closer to the front of the line and get to her job sooner. It could happen.

It was a lovely afternoon and evening. I'd been so bound up in my isolation, and this day just opened something in me. I love my friends.