My Turn: A shower curtain is the latest in pandemic entertaining
One of my greatest pleasures is joining with my family and friends for holidays or sometimes just plain "because."
My family is very large. It consists of two daughters and their two spouses, and two sons and their two spouses. In addition, there are three granddaughters and three grandsons. There are also a couple of "significant others" and two dogs. In the past, we have all gotten along very well and had a good time together
Because of the constraints of my self-quarantine this past year, however, visits to my home now have to be planned creatively, with great thought and precautions. Friends and family can come to visit me in shifts of two or three, at a maximum, at a time.
Last spring and summer, we had sat under the cool shade of a red maple tree with warm sun and gentle breezes; there was plenty of room between each of us, and we enjoyed one another’s company; we had lots of laughs, sometimes eating sandwiches or home-baked cookies. There were no formal meals or parties even though there were a few birthdays or holidays during that time. We didn’t miss the celebrations because being together was celebration enough — and it was OK.
When the late fall and winter arrived, bringing with it the much colder weather, our visits could no longer be out-of-doors. What could we do now that this pandemic isolation was an unwelcome but essential part of our lives? We thought about meeting in the garage, but quickly nixed that idea because as neat as a garage could be, it was still a garage.
My son Gary came up with a brilliant solution: Why not install a rod and transparent shower curtains between two parts of my very large living room? It was an easy solution since the newer part of the living room had been built as an addition and there was a wide arch between the two rooms.
My handyman came to the rescue, installing the rod and hanging the curtains. It was a very tight separation between the two rooms. Voilà! Indoor visiting now was possible.
One of the first visits to this newly reorganized space was from two of my grandchildren, Andrew and Keri. They were able to enter the living room through a back door, thereby eliminating walking through the main part of the house. Andrew, who is 24, and Keri, 21, came for lunch. Andrew is a professional musician and music teacher, and his sister Keri is a senior at Virginia Polytechnic Institute majoring in environmental conservation and society.
We walked together to the nearby Bagel Boss for sandwiches and enjoyed them in the pandemic-safe living room. Andrew and Keri sat on one side "socially distanced" from each other, and I by myself was on the other side, which I refer to as the "isolation ward."
But it was OK: We could still see and hear each other, although we would raise our voices from time to time to be heard through our masks and the shower curtains. After lunch, Andrew played my late husband’s guitar and we sang some Western ballads together, all wearing masks.
When it was time for them to leave, we said goodbye to each other and held hands for a brief moment through the shower curtain. It wasn’t the same as hugs or kisses but it was OK.
Nancy Fadem,
Roslyn Heights
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