Friday, May 29, 2020

Summer Events by @Laurascottbooks

The weather has finally warmed up here in Wisconsin, but while we can go outside in our backyards, many of the normal events we associate with summer have been cancelled. No graduation parties, no Summerfest, no Festival of the Arts, no large crowds period.

Even if large crowds were allowed, I probably wouldn't go anyway unless it was a family event.

But I have to admit, while I want to stay safe and protect others, this staying at home is wearing on me.

All these years I figured I was an introvert and have truly been content to stay at home. I don't mind spending my time reading and writing, working on the yard and doing yoga.

But not seeing my family except for Zoom parties? That is really starting to bother me.

So I've been trying to think of some fun ways to get together (besides Zoom, lol). I invited my kids to come over and hang out in lawn chairs appropriately spaced out six feet apart on the driveway so we can chat. It was a BYO party, everyone had to bring their drink of choice and their own food. It worked out pretty well, but when it came time for them to leave and I couldn't get hugs, I felt bad all over again.

We did a similar driveway party with the neighbors. (I didn't mind not hugging them, ha!)

But that was about all I could come up with. What about you? Any great ideas for summer events with family and friends that can be done while still social distancing?

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#laurascottbooks #sweetromancereads

9 comments:

  1. The driveway party sounds like a great idea. (I almost typed "BYO driveway party," then realized how that would sound. :D

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  2. I wish I had an idea. I like the driveway party suggestion.

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    1. Yes I'm inviting the kids over for a driveway party tonight. I was hoping you all had even better ideas for me. :)

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  3. The driveway party is a great idea, Laura!

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  4. I know my daughter and her family who live in NJ have had a couple of driveway parties with neighbors. We actually had neighbors over for a cookout on Memorial Day. We did share food, but we were six feet apart. We have had very few cases where I live, and the daytime temps are either in the high 90s or low 100s. I'm thinking the virus can't survive too well in that. I've been going to PT twice a week sans mask and playing tennis 3 times a week. We didn't get to go on our overseas trip to southern France and northern Italy or see our kids on the way. We would be there now. No new or novel ideas.

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  5. I've been thinking about what I can do for my kids. We have a 9-square game, but that takes a lot of kids. I was thinking about seeing how much a projector would actually cost so they could watch movies in the backyard. It's so hard to know what to do. One child's friends have SUPER strict parents (they make our strictness seem like we're traveling on cruise ships), while the other child's friends are a lot looser with restrictions. How do I do stuff for one that won't make it so the other one can't do anything with friends???

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  6. Hi Laura! When Covid 19 first reached SW Michigan due to a Sandy Patty concert with a meet and greet and our youngest son who lost his job in Austin Texas move back home, our extended family self quarantined most of March into April. We encouraged each other through text, phone calls, and FaceTime. Grandkids were busy doing school work. Oldest son was working from home. As our family showed no symptoms and the weather warmed up, at first we just met outdoors - was difficult not hugging grandkids. Our family have been cautious in interacting in the community following all best practice guidelines. Thursday was my 70th Birthday so as a family we celebrated - we were 10 people. Probably first time I received a hug from my sons. Our oldest son's neighborhood had a Memorial Day parade for the kids, but not the usual photo shoot or get together. Several children have had drive by birthday parties with the fire department stopping by. This weekend will be drive by graduation celebrations. Our community also did HUNT a BEAR. People put stuffed bears in their front window, so when family went for a walk or occasionally took a drive to see the beach kids could look for bears. A new normal for sure.

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