Searching Memory

Danica messaged us. For an English essay, she  . . . well, here's the message.

Does anyone remember when we started staying at dad’s and when we returned to mom’s during Covid. I would like to know for an essay I’m writing but it’s very hard for me to remember events from that time.

We started looking for the answer to Dani's question, and I first found it on Flickr. It can be easier and quicker to look up things in Flickr than in Blogger although I tried Blogger first.

Following, is the timeline that I pieced together.

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Because Shauna worked at a seniors residence, there were concerns about the spread of COVID in that tight environment, so Shauna sent the kids to the safety of their dad's house.

This is the photo that I posted to Flickr on May 16 2020 (my mother's birthday) but taken the day before, May 15 2020, after a separation of eight weeks. Their dad took this photo of their greeting after driving the kids over to Sha's house.

Once I had found the date on Flickr, I moved on to Blogger, where I had posted the colour version in addition to the b&w.

This is what I wrote on both Flickr and Blogger. I don't think there is one other example of me posting exactly the same thing on both platforms in over twenty years on both mediums.

Eight weeks ago, my daughter made the difficult decision to send the kids to their dad's place. She made this sacrifice because of the dangers inherent in working in a seniors residence at this time. However, her residence has been safe for many many weeks, and it was time for the kids to come home. Tears may have been shed during this hug, but there were certainly moist eyes here upon seeing the photo. (taken by their dad, I presume) 

I am proud of my daughter for making this selfless decision, and I am thrilled that they are back together.

As we looked back on those pictures, we all re-experienced some poignant feelings, or at least all of the adults did.

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You will probably want to stop reading at this point, for the above was all that I intended to post. However, I became curious as to what happened both before and after that reunion in the days of that viral threat, so I add the following for my personal and family benefit. 

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They were hard times in a way, for this is how we had celebrated Sue's birthday that year, 2020, just a few days after the lockdown. The kids and their stepsisters came by with signs.

Then came Danica's birthday almost a month later on April 19. We celebrated at safe social distances in the cold garage.

We also celebrated Mother's Day in the garage, but I will spare you another, similar garage photo. We followed with a safe-distance meetup or two in June, and by Father's Day, the numbers, which I tracked assiduously, were looking not too bad so we got together in close quarters in the house.

We met a few times in July and August, both in the park and at home, and we even dared to have Jonathan over for a sleepover. 

We we felt safe enough to have my September birthday at our place.

If I am getting this right, the numbers began to surge as the weather began to chill, so we were back to the fresh air safety of the park for Canadian Thanksgiving in mid-October.

Later. we had a Halloween meetup in the same park, but by December numbers were really taking off, and we were isolating once more, especially because of the fraught situation at Shauna's work. Our annual tree-decorating party was virtual. 

The town cancelled the normal parade, but a mini parade quickly swept through some of the neighbourhoods.

I had forgotten this, but that the kids isolated for awhile and then tested themselves to confirm that they were virus free. So Shauna sent them over for awhile on Christmas Day.

Danica also came for a sleepover just before New Year. We even went on a little photoshoot together near New Year.

The good times were not to last, and as winter deepened, we were back into not-so-splendid isolation. That went on for more than two months, but finally, COVID tests were taken, and we chanced quick hugs at the door. This was on March 07 2021, just about a year after it had all begun. I admit to being very emotional on that day, and I confess to feeling a bit of similar emotional right now.

I shall spare further pictures for those who have made it this far, but it was back to the garage in 2021 for both Sue's and Danica's birthdays as well as Mother's Day. Father's Day was another park meetup, and it really wasn't until July, after the first two vaxes, that life began to approach the old normal although I believe there was still quite a bit of masking going on.

It was quite a time. We were in our vulnerable seventies, so we remained very cautious throughout and did what we thought we should do in order to keep as safe and healthy as possible. 

Here we are five years later, living pretty normal and healthy lives, all things considered.

Late December 2024