I have noticed my habits are more and more mirroring that of my son’s cat, Gingersnap. She starts her day lying on the bed, the sun streaming in the bedroom from the East side of the house. I have moved my chair in that room so that I too can enjoy the sun while reading, working or knitting. From there, she moves downstairs to the kitchen windows or if the back door is open to the back deck, where she sits high on the handrail and soaks up the sun to her orange fur. As I type this, I too am on that deck, in the red plastic chair, facing the sun and filling with warmth. The afternoon is more flexible, as she either moves to the living room and sits on the couch or to the west-facing dining room which has become the main office area for our family. The afternoon light is best there and so together we respond to e-mails, drink wine for our virtual happy hour or scroll Facebook looking for friends and family connection.

 

The sun has always been an important part of my life. I lived in Southern California through college and moved to San Francisco after. In San Diego where I went to college, it is often referred to as “Sun Diego” by the sheer number of sunny days they get. My husband is so tired of me complaining about the weather and how cold it is, as he is from New York. And has little sympathy. I have mostly adjusted and know to always bring a sweater, scarf and sometimes a jacket with me, and I am grateful that the sun still shines most days.

 

My brother moved to Sweden quite some time ago and frequently greets us by updating us on the amount of sunlight they will get that day. He gets up and goes to work in the dark and comes home in the dark. The sun comes up, barely above the horizon for an hour or so in the middle of the day. I don’t think I would do well in that environment and I often wonder how he does, having grown up in Southern California. Of course, that is just in the winter. In the summer it is the opposite requiring blackout shades to simulate night when it is time to go to bed.

 

I am grateful for so much and today I add the cat’s continued company as well as the sun in these crazy times.