I hope that one day soon we will hold the party after the war.
If the war ever ends. (Remember how it didn’t in 1984?)
Even if the war ends, there will be more wars.
And all tomorrow’s parties.
Our pandemic war is an example of Satir’s model of change.
With only the silver lining that adversity may lead to growth.
Meanwhile, I’m waiting — all of us are waiting — for the party after the war.
And perhaps during the partying, and for some time afterward, we will forget the war.
Until, once again, we remember it all too well.
Photograph “Two British sailors and their girlfriends wading in the fountains in Trafalgar Square on VE Day” from the collection of the Imperial War Museums.