Last year in the Poconos, we had a birthday party for Donald, Thomas, Everett and Mary, all in one. This year, we'll have to make do with a Happy Birthday shout-out to those four. We did have a couple of birthday zoom parties, something that last year I would never have dreamed of. Zoom that is.
And, we actually had an in-person party here, or should I admit that Mary actually had three parties on her birthday? She may have even outdone Thomas who had one in-person party and two zoom parties.
Timmy joined Annie and Sankar for an evening celebration of lobster rolls and cake and homemade ice cream (finally getting down a serviceable product) for Mary's in-person party. Mary reminded Timmy that she used to go on the Sheila boat around Pontoosuc Lake with her friends for her birthdays. Timmy didn't seem to remember any parties that he had, and then the aha moment hit everyone that perhaps the only girl just might have gotten a little special treatment. In that vein, trying to remember any birthday parties I might have had.
We saw on Facebook a few parties in upstate New York for Donald and the construction of a playground in Matthew and Tina's backyard. Looks like fun. And hard work, with Oliver making the adjustments from on high.
Thomas had a party with friends on the Sunday before his actual birthday, and then "Tias" joined us for a zoom call with a candle blowing and unwrapping presents on his birthday. Superheroes, construction pajamas and air guitars are what qualify for presents for three-year-olds.
Changes and disruptions like long-distance birthdays are the easy ones under this pandemic. The Brazil clan learned that their pre-school will remain closed for the foreseeable future and Margaret and Andrew dealt with putting Simon in as safe a day care facility as possible while they both have returned to work. Watching their turmoil over these decisions drives home the widespread impact of this pandemic. Saying it is historic and will be remembered for many years doesn't help the here-and-now disruptions. Just thankful that we as an extended clan continue to be healthy. Knock on wood, or on the screen.
We hear Sean and Erin are finishing up their year in Texas and looking to head back east with big decisions on where to settle eventually. Johanna nicely sent along a book on Hitler and Stalin to add to my stack on my bedside table, near my reading chair, in my office. I think they're taking over, like a Covid invasion. Johanna remains holed up in NYC, but says the publishing business is flourishing in this divisive climate - people buying books to try to make sense of what the heck is going on, or people buying books cause they're in lockdown and have run out of tv shows to binge.
Out in Dundee, Billy and his clan ventured out for a visit to their grandparents, bringing some smiles to relieve the lengthy care that Lur is offering for her parents. Claire, like many teachers, is awaiting decisions on how her school will reopen, with not a little trepidation.
A couple of leftover items from last time. Margaret told us that Melodie and Jeffrey had come over for a socially distanced introduction to Simon. And, we here in Pittsfield have joined the ranks of the unplugged, cable that is. So far so good. I remember a long time ago visiting Jeffrey and Melodie in their apartment on Capitol Hill and saw they had no cable TV and wondered how it could be done. Especially now with no sports, it's pretty easy. When there's a live news event we want to watch, like yesterday's John Lewis funeral, we tuned in on the radio. By the way, Mary reminds me I have already spent the savings from dropping cable for the next several years.
That's about it from up here. Can't believe it's August already. Enjoy the summer while we have it. Love from up here
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