Well friends today is my twenty-eighth day of quarantine from my work site due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and I experienced what perhaps by now many of you have already experienced.
Today is our daughter Audrey's birthday and because of the strict social distancing measures in place, also due to coronavirus, we were unable to celebrate in our usual custom of sharing a nice dinner and a celebratory cake together.
Instead, Jim and I visited Audrey at her home and placed her gifts on her front porch. We then walked out to the sidewalk and called her to let her know we were there. As Audrey opened the door to come outside we held up the family 'Happy Birthday' banner, torn, tattered and taped from years of use, and greeted her with big smiles and a happy birthday salutation.
In truth as we waited for Audrey to appear, I held back tears. I had a sudden moment of overwhelm as I stood next to Jim, anxiously waiting to see our daughter, and thinking about how crappy it must feel for a young person to not have a proper celebration surrounded by friends and family.
But those thoughts and feelings passed as Audrey came out, dressed for her special day with her hair nicely styled. She was upbeat and said despite the situation that she was having a good day. She told us about how her friends had visited her earlier in the day (adhering to social distancing of course), bringing gifts, and that her step-sister Kaede had sent birthday greetings. And she said that tonight she will be watching a movie with friends via Skype.
It was so good to see Audrey and I felt much better after hearing about how her big day was shaping up.
Happy Birthday Audrey - I love you!
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