If the Fates Allow

I loved If The Fates Allow by Rainbow Rowell. This wonderful little story really spoke to me. It was such a relatable tale of our times. It took place during Christmas 2020. If the Fates Allow captured so accurately the struggle of having holidays and managing family during the pandemic. Another unexpected point of this story that I really connected to was the Nebraska grandfather. I was born and raised in California, but my grandfather was from Nebraska. He died about ten years ago, and while he was pretty different from Reagan's grandfather, there were some things that reminded me of him.

When I read the line “He started carving the turkey with an electric knife that was probably older than she was.” I definitely had an emotional response.

I loved this short story so much. It really resonated with me and my pandemic response. I highlighted so many bits. My family was definitely Reagan for the last, like, 20 months or however long it's been. I really identified with the struggle to keep my own family, plus the extended family, safe. I read it before Thanksgiving, which was my first family gathering since the pandemic started. I a little nervous, and reading If the Fates Allow felt too close and raw at first, but in the end it was very cathartic.

Did you know that Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas was a wartime song about not being together on Christmas? The original Judy Garland lyrics are

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yuletide gay
Next year all our troubles will be miles away

Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who were dear to us
Will be near to us once more

Someday soon we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now