One Very Lonely Sausage Maker

It is usually sometime during these long winter months that our house bubbles over with the boisterous enthusiasm of a half dozen sausage making fellas.  These guys gather in our kitchen laughing and joking as they make strings upon strings of sausages; enough to last the families of all involved until the next year.

Like almost everything else, this tradition has been suspended this year and I, for one, will miss it.  Not for the meat, that I can live without, but for the sounds of the male camaraderie that I know fill Ian with such joy.  

As the introvert in our pairing (and now as a mother with the pretty much constant companionship of three young children), I rarely feel the urge to seek human companionship beyond my immediate family.  In fact, I actively seek alone time.

Ian is very different.  His many friendships with his hunting, scouting, fishing, and beer brewing buddies feed his soul.   Like many extroverts, he is very much feeling the strain of the required social distancing that has been the hallmark of the past year.  I sympathize.  I know that Ian will be a more balanced, happier guy when he is finally able resume his pre-COVID social schedule.  For his sake, I hope this comes sooner rather than later.  

Whenever "old school" social gatherings come back into style, I have no doubt that our kitchen will once again be filled with a bunch of rowdy but respectful fellas stuffing ground meat into casings.  And we will all be better for it.  In the meantime, the sausage making must go on, even if it is only one very lonely sausage maker in a very, very quiet country kitchen.