Monday was Star Wars Day (May the Fourth Be With You). In response to a request in an online group, I dug out this photo of my husband, son, and me in costume for the Del Ray Halloween Parade in 2011. So I’ve decided to re-post it here.
Nine years ago, we still lived in the old house (that’s it in the background) a few blocks from the new house. And my son was considerably shorter than me. Now he is 18 years old and at least 6’3″.
The photo makes me nostalgic because nobody thought twice about marching in a parade with hundreds of friends, neighbors, and strangers, most of us in costume. Of course, in our new reality of pandemic-related social distancing, this would be totally verboten. I miss being with people. I miss seeing people I know on the street and stopping to talk. I miss the shared excitement of a fun, silly, even joyous event like the Halloween Parade.
I’m not complaining about social-distancing. We need to keep our distance from others, to protect everyone. But it’s sad, thinking about everything we’re missing.
