Hello Neighbor!

One of the funnier videos that I’ve seen in the last year features a woman in January 2020 giving advice to her future May 2020 self.  Among her suggestions are to do a Costco run, get a dog, and buy stock in Zoom.

Zoom…where would we be without Zoom?  Some days it feels like the bane of my existence, while on others, it’s the only way that I have any contact with the outside world.  As a circumstance of my job, I am on it daily.  Only recently though have I embraced it for personal use.

While I’ve been “safe at home”, I’ve contemplated all of the fun things that I would do post-pandemic.  Included among them were reconnecting with favorite, but rarely seen, cousins; planning more frequent date nights with friends; and resurrecting a long dormant bookclub.  It then occurred to me, “Why wait?”.  That simple question gave birth to Cousins Catch-up, Couples Date Night, and a newly revisited Bookclub (all virtual, of course).

During Cousins Catch-up, it was wonderful to visit with extended family whose company I’ve always enjoyed, but in recent years have only encountered at the occasional wedding or funeral.  As we caught up on everyone’s life and recounted stories from our childhood, I couldn’t help but think of our great-grandparents who immigrated to this country from Poland so many years ago with few dollars and many dreams.  In some small way, I felt that this gathering of their children’s children’s children was paying homage to them.  Couples Date Night consisted of my husband’s and my high school friends.  As we chatted, various teenagers would pop into view to say hello reminding us all that we were our children’s age when these wonderful friendships took root.  Bookclub now includes three girlfriends who have moved out-of-state; a feat that would never take place in a non-virtual world.  This month’s highlight is that the author of our book will be joining us for the discussion…from her home in Sligo, Ireland!  (I highly recommend A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion!) 

One of my favorite sayings is “Bloom where you’re planted.”  My interpretation is that we should always strive to make the best of any given situation.  While being at home this past year has not been without its challenges, it has had its perks.  Not the least of which being that I have never been closer to some of my most favorite people from a distance.

Happy Zooming!
Gina