Last night M and I had a moment of pure brightness – shared laughter and a moment when we felt like ourselves for a flash. We were looking through the Lego catalog that came in the mail when M pointed out a Hundred Acre Wood set. This, of course, got me thinking about my love for the A.A. Milne stories, poetry, and the Disney tv show of the 80s/90s. The rest of the encounter went something like this:

S: Singing Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh…
Silence
M: Whistles the tune from the other room. You know I don’t know any of the words to this other than Winnie the Pooh. You gave me an earworm I don’t know the words to.
S: Strangely, I know all of the words to this. All of them. Sings
“Deep in the hundred acre wood where Christopher Robin plays
You’ll find the enchanted neighborhood of Christopher’s childhood days
A donkey named Eeyore is his friend and Kanga and little Roo
There’s Rabbit and Piglet and
There’s Owl, but most of all Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh
Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff
He’s Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh
Willy nilly silly old bear
Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh
Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff
He’s Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh
Willy nilly silly old bear”
M: Stares at me
S: I begin to sing again
M: Not singing
“So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Dramatic pause
Your job’s a joke, you’re broke
Your love life’s DOA
Dramatic pause
It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear…”
S: Singing “A donkey named Eeyore is his friend and Kanga and little Roo…”

And then we both dissolved into laughter. The last year has buried and stifled moments like this. Maybe it’s the coming vaccines. Maybe it’s the milder temperatures and sun, however long they last. It doesn’t really matter. This episode will leave me feeling lighter for days. Take them and hold on to them as long as you can.