Page 45 - FDCC Pandemic Book

Living in a Pandemic: A Collection of Stories on Coping, Resilience & Hope
meal out and/or a long weekend trip. We’ve driven to Santa Fe, or, for a very special treat, spent the entire week city hopping in Europe, with our favorite city of Paris always in the mix. However, in 2020, with travel restrictions and limitations on restaurant dining, we had to set our expectations low.
Luckily, the weather on our anniversary was pleasant for mid-October, and our favorite French restaurant had open patio seating. We literally had the place to ourselves. The cool French waiter indulged us with an opportunity to practice our very poor French and pretend we weren’t in Oklahoma. We ordered small plates of delicious food, drank wine and enjoyed bread which was the perfect combination of crusty and soft. We topped off the meal with crème brûlée and a box of fresh baked macaroons which rival any we’ve had in Paris. Other than wearing a mask when the waiter came by the table, it almost felt normal.
For our boys, their birthdays still represent milestones. Our oldest celebrated his last birthday at home before going to college. Our youngest entered his teen years. These are times you want to make memorable and special. That’s not an easy task when you can’t gather with friends and family.
Over the past couple of years, we have established a tradition of buying an assortment of cupcakes from a local coffee shop/bakery. As the place is a half-hour drive from our home, we don’t get there often, and the cupcakes are truly a treat. This was one tradition we were able to carry on in the pandemic.
Our boys also enjoy a nice meal for their birthdays. We tried to recreate this tradition as well with take-out from a favorite sushi place, for our youngest, and a perfectly cooked filet for our oldest. Mom and Dad also celebrated by opening a nice bottle of wine, our go-to Napa cabernet.
While the special connections with extended family and friends has been lacking for birthdays and other celebrations during the pandemic, we have persevered and looked to other means, including technology, to recreate some of those experiences in a safe, socially distanced way. There is certainly a lot of pent-up demand to gather for a large party, linger over a good meal with a few close friends, or travel to a favorite destination. With the promise of the vaccines, and the potential normalcy they bring, many can expect to share their next birthday in a more traditional way. We will all be glad for that.
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