This article is part of Washingtonian‘s feature “Gratitude.” We asked dozens of notable Washingtonians as well as our readers: What are you most grateful for? Read some of their responses here.
Tim Kaine
US senator from Virginia, who had a mild case of Covid-19 in April
How did surviving Covid change the way you think about gratitude? Are there things you used to take for granted that you now have a deepened gratitude for?
My wife and I had Covid and quarantined together in Richmond. With the Senate out of session, we were together for 38 days, just the two of us. We would have breakfast in the morning, each work in separate parts of our house, find time for a walk or bike-ride every day, and then make dinner and find something fun to do at night. We watched movies we always wanted to see, played cards, listened to music. We realized—after 36 years of a busy marriage, both working and raising three children—that it was the most uninterrupted one-on-one time we’ve ever had. We loved being together, even in the midst of such a challenging time.
Jane is a Chicago transplant who now calls Cleveland Park her home. Before joining Washingtonian, she wrote for Smithsonian Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied journalism and opera.
