Author: Sheri Denkensohn-Trott
At our wedding, 16 years ago on September 3rd, we took our vows. While we made some adjustments to the traditional vows and had readings to represent the Jewish religion (me) and Catholic religion (Tony), we both agree that we do not remember the word pandemic. Yes, the vows included commitment 
to each other, encouragement to the other in times of challenge, and being supportive of individual growth. However, I can tell you for sure that we did not envision being alone together for going on 18 months.
I never thought that I would get married. The story of how I met Tony is legendary amongst my family and friends, and if you’d like to hear it in its entirety and have some laughs, go to Story District on YouTube and search for Sucker for Love 2020. 
In short, one evening spent with my girlfriends we each wrote the qualities of what we wanted in a man on a paper plate, hoping that we would meet that person. Tony turned out to be my plate mate.
Luckily for me, Tony was and still is a great pandemic mate. I am grateful for this, as I know many individuals who were alone or in relationships that were very difficult to maintain and sustain during the pandemic. We found new ways to connect. Binging television shows together that we liked and making sure to watch other shows unique to our own taste after the other person was asleep or not around. We became great fans of Words with Friends, a Scrabble like game where we each play from our respective phones. We also spent more time talking. Storytelling about the past, sharing our fears and hopes related to the pandemic and the future in general, and trying to plan fun dinners together to break up the monotony (and Tony is an excellent chef). Overall, I’d say we passed the test.
The pandemic remains and we are still navigating difficult waters. We continue to deal with every day health issues, household tasks, and work, and those things will likely remain unchanged. The virus is still around, causing different types of challenges and decision trees as far as our activities, specifically where we go and others that we allow into our circle to ensure safety.
Regardless of all the chaos, for everyone, it is important to stop and be thankful. That thankfulness may be different for everyone. For me,
right now at our 16th Anniversary I am thankful that my pandemic mate Tony is with me on this journey.
allow for that. For example, at the gym, I am able to use resistance bands that are tied to or wrapped securely around a very string pole, and at home I have found different ways to attach the band to a door (with handles) or even a grab bar if I have to.
So because I don’t have a handcycle, I have to do something else for a cardio workout. I have found two different activities so I can just alternate between them. The simplest thing is just to mime the movement of the handcycle. This gets old after a while, so I decided to find an object around the house that was not too heavy, but not too light (and, of course, not fragile; say a big bag of frozen peas!) and I just put that on the dining room table in front of me and while seated in my wheelchair (of course, with my seatbelt on), I take the object with my right hand and set it on the floor and then with my left hand I move it back to the table. I try to keep a constant speed and I can change directions when I feel like it; I aim for 30 minutes when I do this, but I do what I can.
for the first time. Fresh smells, greenery, and flowers. From darkness to light. In a strange way, that is how I felt last week.
I was nervous, but we were able to accomplish the task with minimal risk. My chair was near the door of the salon and it was kept open the entire time. I was masked and so was the hairdresser. When he washed my hair, he put a towel over my face and worked fast. We did everything we could to minimize the risk. When I emerged I felt like new. Yes, it was like coming out of hibernation.