Page 43 - FDCC Pandemic Book

Strangely, the pandemic has enriched relationships in some ways. It has given those who are distanced physically a yearning to reach out and reconnect in new ways. I will confess that prior to the pandemic I had never heard of Zoom, except as a teeth whitener.
B irthdays can be difficult even in the best of times. As the years pass, many of us would likely rather ignore them, or at least keep the celebrations low key. However, during 2020, the year of a pandemic, it seems we all needed a reason to rejoice another year around the sun, and hopefully, for most of us, good health. As Oprah Winfrey once said, “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more
there is in life to celebrate.”
The pandemic altered our birthday celebrations in significant ways. Social distancing and avoidance of indoor gatherings prevent all the usual trappings of a birthday party. Thinking of years past, the simple tradition of blowing candles out on a birthday cake seems reckless today. Even those of us who never ascribed to be a germaphobe can’t imagine eating a dirty piece of cake someone blew on. One hopes that these rituals will become normal again, but human behavior is interesting.
The fear-sensing part of our brain, the amygdala, controls much of our automatic impulses. Over the course of many months, we have been trained to respond to a
Celebrating Birthdays During
The Pandemic
THAYLA PAINTER BOHN
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American Fidelity Assurance Company Oklahoma City, OK