Milestones in a Pandemic

Baptisms, graduations, weddings and funerals are the ties that keep our family links strong.

Our nephew is a high school senior this year and we're mourning all the 'lasts' that he will miss during quarantine: the graduation open house, senior prom, athletic team events.

Another milestone is the upcoming christening of our first grandchild, which will be limited to two parents, two godparents and four grandparents. Our family's hand-sewn christening gown has been worn by generations of infants, but never for such a small gathering.

Today we carefully unpacked the slip and gown, fastened all the tiny buttons and snaps. It fits. The traditional gathering of family and friends will be held at some unspecified time --when it is again safe to pass babies from lap to lap and hug friends.

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Empty Mall of America

Here's a lifetime experience: an empty Mall of America. No cars in the ramps; echoing, empty space overlooking a few American Red Cross volunteers who manage the blood donors in the mall's north lobby. When we scheduled our donations, we were instructed to wear masks or we would be issued masks. Volunteers guided me through the process: show us your RapidPass reservation. Clean your hands. Now show us your donor card. Oops, you touched your phone, time to sanitize hands again. The staff were vigilant; they sanitized anything that touched me--the blood pressure cuff, the table that I leaned on, the chair I sat on. And honestly? I valued the opportunity to get out of the house on a legitimate, sanctioned trip and would happily go donate weekly if that was an option.

Herd behavior strikes

Monday, March 16 Today was our first official day of mindfully staying isolated at home and it was very boring until 7 pm when Jack came over to "shop" from our pantry. The grocery stores were cleaned out, he said. Empty shelves. No milk. No meat except prime steak. "So sad," I said. "Help yourself; we have plenty." "And now that they're closing the liquor stores..." "!! The liquor stores! Why would they do that?!" Don't know, he said, just look it up online, message from the governor, starting tomorrow. I didn't look it up, jumped in the car and made like a bat out of hell for Total Wine. We were running low in several categories and I'd been meaning to go. The store certainly looked like the last day. Parking lot was packed, lots of people pushing full carts holding grimly to the cart handle with antibacterial tissues. One guy was talking on his phone, coordinating with his wife at Costco to pick ...

Zoom Gatherings

Most of us in strict isolation have reached our tolerance for solitude by now and we're actively reaching out to friends and family. Today my siblings had a Zoom gathering with 13 people in three states. Everyone was eager to join in and find out what's happening with our clan of about 40 cousins, including children and grandchildren. My younger siblings say their workday is nothing but Zoom meetings--with clients, students, coworkers. A gathering like this wouldn't happen in our normal life. We get together when siblings are in the Twin Cities and we keep in touch, but the constraints of speaking one at a time became obvious very quickly. Like most big families, we talk in strands of conversation that weave around and overlap with lots of laughter and side comments. Zoom gathering with small groups of friends are now on our schedule. Given our quiet lives, we have to save up enough news for a weekly meeting. CoronaVirus Rhapsody

Social Distancing

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