Another one gone by, I think... 
maybe it was four.

These soft days we find ourselves in.

It's supposed to be summer,
but I can no longer remember who I was in summer.
How am I supposed to make the transition into autumn, 
if I don't know what's what in summer?

Wait... will there be an autumn?

The kids must be going back to school. 
Have they already done their school shopping?
I can't tell.

I remember the telltale sign;
being crossed by the joy of getting new things 
and the anxiety of going back to school.

This is an important enough lesson to learn, I guess...

Something the newly retired learn like a slap in the face 
and the elderly dread as an omen of the grave. 
A lesson that frustrates those who get laid off 
as it stretches time like taffy.

A lesson now learned by all 
from a botched response to a virus.

That it is not how we look that defines us; 
the hair style, or color, the piercings, the tattoos, 
or all the different styles of clothing...

Nor is it what we believe; 
no religion, no science or philosophy.

All of that is secondary, 
just garnishing.

We are our routines.
And without them we become lost.