Luckiest Woman Alive – My Clyde Award

I humbly accept this year’s Clyde Award for Luckiest Woman Alive. I wouldn’t be standing here clutching a fuzzy little horse if it had not been for the support of my loving husband Bob whose sole purpose in life is to keep me happy.

It’s worth mentioning that Clyde has been part of our household since he was pulled from a mountain of discarded clothing in a Habitat for Humanity sorting room fourteen years ago. I was pawing through a box of romance novels when my fellow volunteers placed him, with his paunch and nonchalance, in my arms as if placing a cherry atop a peak of whipped cream.

I want to thank my parents and five brothers for staying alive through 2020. I also wish to thank the American people for choosing hope over fear by voting for an administration that will address climate change and the pandemic with measured forethought.

I am beholden to my friends, near and far, who have kept me intact with their quips and insight: to Haruka who routinely appears on my laptop screen from Japan to Cathi in Colorado for making me laugh and sending art supplies, to Steph in New Zealand for our ongoing email conversation of fifteen years, to Sharyl, Shelley, Amy, Zoila, Nauzley, Carolyn, and others who share their secrets via email, snail mail, text, and phone.

I must give a nod to Big Tech for making social distancing easy and fun. My compliments to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, Zoom, Messenger, online shopping carts, curbside pick up, the United States Postal Service, UPS, and Federal Express.

Finally, I am grateful for my trendy mask collection, especially the black one with the sable-soft ear loops, and for the folks I encounter while picking up the mail who smile with their eyes, nose and mouth covered in a show of I-care-for-you-solidarity.

And to the doctor who sat facing me in a darkened cubicle after the power failed and administered a flu shot by the light of his cell phone.

Thanks to all of you I find myself standing here, clutching my prize and beaming over my good fortune. May my luck hold out for another year, but regardless of what is to come, nothing can obliterate this moment of glory.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!