5am on Saturday morning.

I sit alone in the quiet and calm of our rental house in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I am savoring my first cup of coffee which I prepared in almost complete darkness and without making a peep so as not to disturb my family, including Finnley who has literally pushed me out of bed.

I gaze upon my charming, illuminated tree that fills the darkened house with a magical holiday glow.

I ponder our journey to Santa Fe inspired by Covid madness.

I fancifully conjure up images of 19th century peddlers.

Arriving by car and not by wagon or foot, I made the 870 mile journey laden with wares to facilitate our holiday pilgrimage.

Unlike the immigrant peddler’s clientele, we were not in need of pots and pans, dishes, silverware, tablecloths, shoes and eyeglasses.

Those items came with the house and we brought our own shoes and eye ware.

Pandemic circumstances dictated a need for a car filled with necessities as New Mexico is in a lockdown and we were entering the unknown facing self-quarantine upon crossing state lines.

To honor tradition, I schlepped a Christmas tree, hand picked ornaments and a menorah,

For survival I packed Trader Joe’s EVOO (a cooking necessity), a lemon squeezer, zester and cheese grater, aluminum foil, Tupperware, sparkling water, sharp knives, mixing bowls, Panko, Illy coffee, a knife sharpener, Tide, Mrs Meyers Clean Day Dish Liquid, Anchovie Paste for Caesar Salad, a cast iron skillet, a coffee scooper, fresh ground pepper, masks, Best Foods mayonnaise, Kosher salt,  face shields, capers and our own pillows.

Perishables were out of the question as it was a 13 hour overnight journey.

The Coronaville valuables and items we could not live without were bubble wrapped and sequestered in the car’s secret compartment…Charmin Ultra Soft Toilet Paper, Bounty Paper Towels, Antibacterial Soap and Hand Sanitizer.

Since our arrival we have learned the lay of the land and our youngest and less vulnerable family member ventures out for sustenance and toilet paper.

2020 forces you to embrace a rigid New Normal which will hopefully start trending positive when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn in on January 20th, 2021 and the Covid vaccine is widely circulated.

Short of hugging, gathering and going maskless, we look forward to  happily entering a grocery store and slowly matriculating back into society without imminent  fear of death.

And, of course, the ejection of the ultimate Loser…the Orange one is finally being squeezed out.

Ding Dong the witch is dead!?