"I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them."
-Phyllis Diller
With everyone vaccinated, we were finally able to get together with the family to celebrate all the missed holidays at Nina and Papa’s house. And I mean ALL the missing holidays. On the front porch alone, there were decorations for New Years, Valentine’s, Easter, Halloween, 4th of July, St. Patrick’s Day, and likely others. The party started by bringing in the new year with a makeshift firework show on the lawn.
Inside there were activities built around all the times we weren’t able to get together in 2020. They went in order, with the exception of Easter which was saved for last. The kids made hearts for Valentine’s Day, decorated a king cake for Mardi Gras, searched for a pot of gold on St. Patrick’s Day, lit sparklers for the 4th of July, and opened presents for Christmas. It was non-stop fun for the kids.
By popular request, the Easter egg hunt was saved for last. The kids looked for eggs in every yard and no kid was left without a full basket.
It was time to swim after the holiday festivities were concluded. It was a great way to cool off and use up some of the sugar infused energy. And while nothing can fully replace the lost time due to the pandemic, this was a great way to get everyone together to show that 2021 will be better than 2020.