I have been more careful than most, I think, about COVID precautions - with the exception of having my mom over for Mother’s Day, during that fleeting moment when it seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel might actually be the After Times, nobody has been in our house without a mask throughout the whole pandemic who doesn’t live here. Our friends are of similar mindset; I just learned that one of them may not have seen her mother (who lives locally, and is probably in her 80s) in person for the entirety of the pandemic!
It’s definitely taken a toll on our mental health. We have hung out with people outdoors on occasion, and all my friends are vaccinated, but it sure does look increasingly like it’s going to be another long, cold winter without much in-person indoor socializing. Which I used as rationale to request an upgraded fire pit as my Hanukah gift, which we used last night to have a handful of friends over in the backyard to do our annual Christmas caroling…but not quite in the usual way. We hung some Christmas lights in the backyard, plugged in a coffee urn full of spiced cider and set out a few bottles of things to spike it with, and plugged in a giant Crock-Pot full of lentil soup.
Well, that was nice, and I was not terribly surprised that it improved all of our moods drastically. I’m considering making it a regular thing, maybe monthly, throughout the winter, weather permitting (and may have a rather generous definition of “weather permitting.” This is Chicago, after all.)
What other creative ways have you folks found to socialize safely in our current epidemiological circumstances? I fear we are going to need all the help we can get this winter. (One of last night’s attendees is considering doing something similar in her backyard on New Years Eve, BYOFP - Bring Your Own Fire Pit.)
