Holidays - Quarantine Style

Easter is tomorrow, and while we're not a religious family it's still a time where we are used to getting together. It's a little strange that this won't be happening this year. My sister lives in Columbus and she's staying there with her husband. The rest of the family is staying put.

Last year Billy and I spent spring break/Easter in San Diego with my uncles. It was the first time I had seen them since my grandmother passed away - just about 9 years. Today, Billy went down memory lane talking about Easter in San Diego. I should probably call Uncle B to see how he and M are doing.

I'll miss going to mass with them tonight.

Even though we aren't getting together for Easter, I'm still making noodles. Noodles are important in my family. My grandmother made them for almost every single holiday meal. I think Thanksgiving was the exception. The thing is before she passed she didn't teach any of us the recipe. My aunt knew how to cut the noodles as that was part of her "job" during the few years before mamaw passed away. But the actual recipe to make the noodles? No clue. Don't get me wrong, I asked mamaw how to make them and the answer was usually that she threw things together until the dough felt right. Not helpful mamaw...

So fast forward to last Christmas when I played around and figured it out. It's not EXACTLY the same, but it's pretty darn close. Today I spent ALL. DAY. LONG. babysitting chickens as they boiled down to stock. Tomorrow I'll make the noodles and deliver them to family. It really is a long and labor-intensive process, but it's worth it. I need to make sure I pass down the recipe so I don't torture future family members when no one knows how to make it.

Today I got to talk to two of my good friends and we did a virtual afternoon out. It felt good to talk to them and socialize. If you can call drinking tea and chatting over Zoom as socializing. Meh. It will, perhaps, be easier for me to chat with C before P again. With P working in the medical field, it's a miracle if they get time off to breathe. I worry about P being exposed to COVID especially with the patients that have been coming in recently. P is worried about the older people in the hospital and people who aren't social distancing/staying at home. Some of the things I hear from P make the shortages more a reality. Wearing a cloth mask over surgical masks to make them last longer. Spraying Lysol on masks to disinfect after sneezing or coughing. Not enough gowns. Not enough shields. Not enough doctors. Not enough beds. Not enough hospitals. Not enough time.

Listen, people. This is not over yet. Don't think that because some numbers are declining that everything is wrapping up. It's not. Please stay at home. Please be responsible. Please wash your hands. Please follow directions.  We're in this together. Not just for our community and state, but for other communities and states as well. Yes, it sucks right now, but it won't last forever. We will find a new version of normal. Just not today, next week, or next month.

Next time - PICTURES OF NOODLES! OM NOM!