Tuesday was my mother’s 83rd birthday, and one of my sisters set up a group Zoom call, including an hour of old family photos and videos and some time to chat. Altogether, we had 15 people taking part at one time or another, though some people joined for only part of the time.
Zoom is not the best way to connect with family members, but it’s hard to get people together when we’re spread out from Seattle to South Carolina, and from New Hampshire to Sacramento. And many places in between. And of course, traveling gets much more complicated during a pandemic. Gradually, we’re getting vaccinated, and I hope to see at least a few of my family members in person this summer.
I admit that this is a lousy photo. Some people are out of focus, badly lit, or slipping out of the frame. I chose it in part for that reason. This is the reality of Zoom meetings, and someday, when this pandemic is over, we should remember what it was like.
The Petrini Page 