Covid-19 has separated some of us, but in other cases it's forced us together in much more intimate circumstances, and for a far longer time, than we ever imagined possible. Merry Christmas.

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Jingle jingle jingle jingle jingle jingle jingle jing
That’s the jingle jangle of the ring of keys that dangle on dad’s belt so we know it’s him
He’s jingling his keys completely absentmindedly, Raptors reruns on TV
Grumbling and mumbling something something something the game isn’t the same as it used to be

And mom has gone downstairs to try to find the extra chairs so everyone can eat together
Not counting all the kids and hey nobody ever did there’s something like a dozen, plus Heather
And Heather being new she wasn’t sure just what to do, went down the basement stairs to help
Mom was smoking menthols by the dryer, whimpering and crying, "please someone get me out!"

Hey, what a beautiful winter’s day
Now everybody’s home for the holidays
Oh say, we’re family and we’re here to stay
Yes everybody’s home for the holidays

Bill is in the kitchen trying to pitch in with the dishes wishing he and Brad had had the sense
To stay back in Nova Scotia where the cases are much lower and everything is less intense
But no no no no no Brad just had to go to Ontario before the snow began
Now they’re stuck out in the suburbs and Bill is scrubbing something off the always-sticky non-stick pan

And Jane is still complaining ‘bout the lady on the train who was coughing all the way from Guelph
Opening a bag of frozen curly fries she says she wouldn’t be surprised if she had it now herself
Just then the doorbell rings “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and look, Kim brought Jimmy along
How’d she pick such a winner? Everybody knows that dinner will be Jimmy’s jibber-jabber about Q Anon

Hey, what a beautiful winter’s day
Now everybody’s home for the holidays
Oh say, we’re family and we’re here to stay
Yes everybody’s home for the holidays

Katherine and Christian just finished school by distance and they tell everyone how much it sucked
Grandpa asks if they are able to use proper English at the table and Katherine says "Grandpa, shut up!"
She talks about the cops that killed a guy outside a shop because they didn’t like the colour of his skin
"Now Katherine, all lives matter!" yells Kim’s Jimmy at her; mom storms off to passive-aggressively put the turkey in