My Corona Birthday

Today was a very special day. To my parents, it is the day I made them caregivers for the very first time. To hallmark and the balloon companies, it was a chance to make a few dollars. But to me, it was a reminder of just how lucky I am.

Last year for me, was a big one, as I turned the big 4-0. There were many friends who asked how I would be celebrating or what my husband would plan for me on my special day. I chose not to have much fanfare. In January, my husband and I celebrated a big anniversary b”h. We decided that we would combine my 40th birthday and our anniversary celebrations by taking a special trip to Europe over the summer since all the kids would be in sleep away camp. We had something big to look forward to, but it would just have to wait a few months. And then the pandemic happened. And the world shut down. Panic struck, people died, and we became isolated, both in our homes, and for some, in our hearts. Life as we knew it, had changed. Priorities and what really mattered quickly became clear. We longed for normalcy and the mundane but what we got was a quick lesson in the lack of control we actually have and a blatant reminder of who is in charge.

Many life altering moments were now celebrated or commemorated over zoom, and we slowly learned to adapt. It wasn’t what we wanted, but it was what we were offered. So we got used to the new abnormal normal. B”h, things began to improve in our area and we began to venture out more, allow outdoor socially distanced play dates, and it was nice to see people again. Just sitting outside or taking a walk and being able to make eye contact or strike up a conversation with someone was enough to fill our social needs that were so desperately ignored for so long. The isolation began to melt away for many although not for all, and perspective definitely changed. For my birthday this year, my gift was spending the day with my children, a special treat, given the fact that they are usually in sleep away camp. We reveled in the simple pleasures of a surprise birthday cake, festive balloons that danced throughout my house, and a take out dinner at our decorated “restaurant” which was our dining room table. And although there was no fancy reservation, or trip to some exotic destination to celebrate another year, my heart traveled quite far today- noticing the little things that swelled into the big things and took a front and center seat in the priorities of life. Today I celebrated the things that make me lucky - my family, my health, and my friends, and I realized, that amidst the craziness, there was a serenity, and a renewed clarity of what is important. Corona definitely took much away from us and it still continues to wreak havoc in all parts of the world. But it also offered us a new perspective that is worth hanging on to, even after hopefully one day soon, the virus will become a distant memory.