Saturday! The weekend was here, and it was the start of a flurry of pandemic-approapriate activity. Saturday morning, we started out with the first of what would be many Zoom meet ups over the weekend. This one with my brother, Joe, back in Wisconsin and his son Fox. The cousins on both sides were asking to get together, so it was fun getting everyone together virtually to catch up.
The kids showed off various toys, pets and stories with each other. They all engaged together really nicely and it was one of those moments that made me strongly feel that I need to make sure these kinds of things happen more often, pandemic or not.
Erin had some dog training clients, so after the call, the kids and I did some tidying up around the house and got some various chores done. And most importantly, Amelia finished her letter to Santa Claus, which we got all sealed up and ready to mail. Also, Asta spent some quality time napping underneath the tree.
It was a beautiful day, so I took the kids and Asta to the mailbox to mail the letter, and then we all took a walk to one of the local playgrounds. The first one we went to was kind of overrun with teenagers, so being the old many I am now, I quietly shook my fist at them from a distance and took the kids to a different playground.
And they had a really fun time there. It was relatively deserted, with just a couple other kids around and Amelia and Henry were able to run around and get some energy out.
I hung back and watched, and it occurred to me that I was looking like some kind of Dick Tracy villain.
When the sun started to set, it got plenty cold plenty fast, so we started the hustle home. But not before stopping off at one of the houses in the neighborhood who just put up their rather impressive Christmas decorating display.
Back home, I made dinner and after that, we all jumped on one more Zoom get together. This one with was our dear friend Erika, (Auntie Erika to the kids) who I’ve been friends with since college and who lives in nearby Boulder. This is another get together we’ve been meaning to set up for ages, and it was so great that we did.
The kids loved it, and Erin and I also got to enjoy some wonderful grown up conversation and catching up with our good friend. We laughed, we shared, and it was really nice. It was an important reminder of how important it is to take the time to maintain relationships any way we can during these strange times.
I’ve known Erika for a few decades, and have always been so thankful for her perspective and wisdom about things. We talked a lot about the state of the world, and also about friends we have who are ill, going through hard times, and even those we have lost in recent times. Erin and I were asking about how to help and reach out, and Erika in a very simple and excellent way pointed out that the best thing any of us can do is to let those we care about know how much we love them and how much we are thinking about them, because the very honest truth is that we never know when the last conversation we have with someone will be.
That’s not meant to be morbid, but it really does underline the importance of expressing ourselves to those close to us. Let people know how much they mean to you anytime you think about it. After all, what are you waiting for? It’s not like those sentiments get better if you withhold them for a long time.
It makes me think of when I was a kid and would get Halloween candy, I always wanted to save the good pieces, and very often, by the time I got around to those good pieces, weeks had passed and they were stale and not so good anymore.
Don’t let your feelings get stale. Tell those you love that you love them, and let them know you’re there. So I’m going to close this blog today by sharing my gratitude with you for reading this. It does mean a lot me and I hope what I write here at least helps you feel like you aren’t alone out there. We live in what could easily be experienced as the loneliest of times. We are physically isolated. But that doesn’t mean we have to be alone. We are all going through this together. So reach out and stay connected. It can be awkward and difficult, but it is worth it and it is vital to our health, physical and spiritual.
