June has always been a busy month for our family and this
year is no different, pandemic or not.
My daughter-in-law, Kristi, celebrated her birthday a couple of weeks
ago. For the first time in three months
we went to their house in order to celebrate her birthday with them.
Last night we celebrated my husband Tom’s birthday with the
family. His actual birthday is later
this week but it is easier to get everyone together on weekends. We went to his favorite barbecue restaurant
and then came back to our house for cake.
This was the first time we actually went in a restaurant since early
March. I must say the restaurant did an
excellent job of social distancing. They
even had employees in the parking lot telling you where to park and letting the
waiters inside know that you had arrived. We did not go in the restaurant until the table was ready and then they
took us directly to our table. There
was a QR code on the table that you scanned with your phone and then you received the
menu on your phone, thus doing away with physical menus, so nothing would be
shared between people. It seems like
there is a whole new way of doing everything these days. Tom did have a very nice birthday and we
really enjoyed seeing our family again.
He actually gets a double celebration this weekend because tomorrow is
Father’s Day here.
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| Tom's Birthday Gifts |
Next weekend our grandson, Gavin, will be graduating from
high school! We were not sure if there
would even be a ceremony due to the Covid restrictions. However, many of the restrictions were lifted
in our state last week. His graduation
will be held in a much larger auditorium than would normally be required in
order for there to be socially distancing seating. There are only seven tickets available per
graduate and each family will sit together but be spaced from everyone
else. Gavin is our second and last
grandchild and I can’t believe he is graduating already! We are very proud of him!
Then just two days after Gavin graduates my
son and his wife, Chris and Kristi, will celebrate their 25th
wedding anniversary. Time does go fast! My brother, Charlie, also has a birthday on
July 4th but he lives out of the country and I have already mailed him something. This is definitely a busy time of the year for us!
Tom and I have been very good about following all lockdown
restrictions since they started last March.
We have only gone to the grocery store and have worn masks when there. We have not spent time with family at all
until this month. Since many
restrictions have been lifted, we are not breaking any this month but we are
seeing family each weekend. With the exception
of the restaurant last night and the graduation next weekend we are not
spending time around large groups of people and even those are guided by social
distancing rules. It is so strange that
in these pandemic days there can be a concern about even being with your own
family. I am thankful we are able to see
our family now while many of the restrictions have been lifted. However since the state has opened up, we have seen a
slow but steady rise in the number of cases of Covid and there has been some
mention of the possibility of another lockdown.
I certainly hope that is not the case but if so, at least we have gotten
to see family a bit now before we lockdown all over again if necessary.
Oh my! Your family really has a busy couple of weeks! Your husband's presents look so nice and bbq is one of my favorite meals out! Congrats to your grandson and all the best to him.
ReplyDeleteThanks! This is a busy month for us and I have been so happy to finally see family again after three months of the lockdown.
DeleteHappy Birthdays all around! Stay safe and good luck.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope we are staying safe, these days it is hard to be sure but I needed to see my loved ones!
DeleteCongratulations to all. It is a brave new world and kudos to you for observing public health.
ReplyDeleteThank you Joanne. It certainly is a new world out there now. We have stayed in so long and now that we went out we have discovered many changes in the way things operate. At least they are trying to be safe but it still makes me nervous as we are seeing the cases rise again. I just want to see my grandson's graduation, hopefully safely!
DeleteIf there is another lock down , you've had some practice at it. You're not the only family to have many family events in a short period of time. Our busy time is October.
ReplyDeleteSo October is your family's busy month! You know, I guess all families have at least one month each year like that. It would sure be easier to handle without the Covid in the middle of it though!
DeleteA month of being busy for the best reasons! It must have been wonderful to see your family "for real" after such a long time.
ReplyDeleteI have not hugged my Mum and Dad since early March but have at least been able to see them; at first, we only visited outside their house, and gradually dared to go into their flat again, still sitting as far apart from each other as recommended, and keeping the place well aired.
Here, numbers of infections have risen in some hot spots, but thankfully not (yet?) in my area. The numbers are carfully monitored and we all know that there could be a tightening of restrictions again.
It was wonderful to see our family again! I'm glad you have been able to see your parents and I do understand how hard it is to not hug them. How I wish we could put all this behind us and go back to normal but we are seeing the numbers rise again here and I fear another lockdown.
DeleteCongrats to everyone on all the events! Stay safe. It feels scary even seeing family after all this time, I know. I know you'll all be careful. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Rita! It seems so wrong that you have to be so careful about seeing your own family but I do understand. We really enjoyed being with them and I am hoping we don't have another, stronger lockdown.
DeleteCongratulations to one and all! We also began to see family again this month. In our family we have 14 in all (the two of us, 3 children, 3 children's spouses, and 6 grandchildren), and our celebrations are spread all over the calendar: 2 birthdays in January, 2 in February, 2 in March, 2 in May, 2 in July, 1 in August, 2 in September, and 1 in December. There are four anniversaries: 2 in May, 1 in November, and 1 in December. By the time all six grands are married that will be 6 more birthdays and 6 more anniversaries. I may have to take out a federal loan to pay for it all!
ReplyDeleteBut they're worth it.
I think many have started seeing family again this month. Three months is a long time to not see them. I am glad you have gotten to see your family too. These birthdays and special occasions do keep us busy, don't they?! We also have birthdays scattered all over the calendar but June always seems busier. And you are right, our loved ones are worth it!
DeleteCongratulations to all the family members and their various celebrations. Glad you were able to be together to celebrate your husband's birthday. Lots of that going on here too--five birthdays in May. Oldest son retiring after 21 years in the AF and his family getting ready to move to another state where they own a home (he's been stationed near us the last three years--the first time in his career as a great deal of it was spent overseas). Another five birthdays coming up in July and August. Haven't gotten together but once as family members have a fair number of outside contacts due to work/etc. and I'm the group elder. Sad, but cautious.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary! Congratulations to your son! I'm glad you were able to get together once at least. After this month we probably won't see much of family again for a while as we are also older and unfortunately the number of cases are going up again. But I really want to see my grandson graduate!
DeleteThere didn't seem to be any issues with COVID, social distancing or masks at Trump's rally in Tulsa. Nice to see your great President is leading the way out of the pandemic lockdown. A bit like The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Happy birthday to your husband Tom and congratulations to Gavin on his high school graduation. What is Gavin doing next?
ReplyDeleteThe Tulsa rally also didn't have the turnout that was expected either! I guess a few people did decide to stay safe away from the crowd.
DeleteDuring Gavin's last two years of high school he also attended a technical school and is graduating with honors from that school. He already has a good postion with a company doing body work and painting cars and trucks. He was not interested in college but loves working with his hands.
Some of our restrictions have been eased as well, so we were able to see our little grandsons over the weekend, Bonnie. I'm glad you've had a chance to see family and get a measure of time together. I expect we will see the restrictions eased and tightened quite a few times before a vaccine is available and things go back to normal.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to all in your family who have special dates this month. Special congratulations to your grandson. I think more young people should consider technical skills training because those skills are sorely needed in our world.
I'm so glad you were able to see your grandsons! They grow and change so fast when they are little and I know they hold a special place in our hearts!
DeleteI have not thought about it but you are right about the likelihood that we will see restrictions eased and tightened many times. We have just had our lockdown lifted for the most part and already the numbers are rising. I want so badly for this to all be over but I know the reality is that it is here for a long time until a successful vaccination is discovered.
Thank you for your congratulations. You are right about the technical training these days. I have heard there is often a shortage of students taking such training and the need is strong for technical skills. Gavin has done well in his school and is already making a very good salary plus the fact that he enjoys the work.
Wow, that is some stack of gorgeous-looking presents! Your June celebration calendar looks like mine--five family birthdays, Father's Day, and one anniversary.
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth and welcome to my blog! Your family has five birthdays in June along with everything else - Wow! I bet that does keep you busy. Our families are very special though, aren't they?
DeleteI am so glad you got to see your family...it is hard being away from them. A happy belated birthday to your hubby. And sounds like lots of other good things going on. We have never stopped seeing the girls. Our youngest moved back over by Indianapolis, which is about an hour and a half away. Our older daughter transferred there from St. Louis, so she is closer. We finally went over this weekend to see both their new houses, and to visit. We had not seen them very much as far as visiting...just to drop off or pick up Lorelei.
ReplyDeleteHi Rose, I'm glad you got to see both your daughters' new houses. I bet that was a fun trip. We were thrilled to finally see our family and celebrate with them.
DeleteSo much to celebrate! Glad you got to spend some quality time with your family Bonnie. My parents are in a 'sheltered' group of people and I haven't seen them since Christmas day! I hope you have many more things to celebrate over the coming months. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear your parents are in a safe place but I'm sorry you have not been able to see them in such a long time. It is difficult not seeing our loved ones once in a while! Thank you for your kind wishes! After our grandson's graduation this Saturday we will probably not see anyone for some time again but I sure have enjoyed seeing them this month.
DeleteWow. You weren't kidding about all of the celebrations. I am glad to hear that you got to celebrate everyone and had a good time. Hopefully we are getting closer to normal. We thought we were in Idaho but we had a setback.
ReplyDeleteOur state opened up a couple of weeks ago but it's starting to look like it could close up again but we will have to wait and see. It sure has been nice to see my family though. I hope things improve in your area soon!
DeleteYou have been busy! They are easing the lockdown a bit here in the UK, and by July 4th most places should be open again, but to be honest I don't feel like going anywhere. I was never very sociable and this has just made me worse.
ReplyDeleteI understand how you feel. After seeing the rise in cases since we have opened up here you might be wise to stay in a bit longer. Take care.
DeleteSo much fun. Be careful.
ReplyDeleteWe went to our grandson's graduation last Saturday and now we are staying in as before. It was wonderful to see our family.
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