The first holiday of the 2020 quarantine era has come and gone. In many ways, celebrating Memorial Day takes on new meaning, especially as we continue to self isolate with children. Honoring those who have given their lives in service of our country is important…and this year we, as well, honor those who have responded to this pandemic — the doctors, nurses, front-line care workers and specialists who mask-and-glove-up every day to help and heal others. Simultaneously, as we make our own memories here at home, we remain mindful of these times and how we plan to remember them. How will we tell our children about this period and what we did. First and foremost, we stayed home. Early on, we realized that doing so would be stressful. Would we get bored? Would the kids get bored? Will they start to realize the pressures and monotony of staying put?

Our goal has been to make sure we pass over stress as much as possible without taking our frustrations out on each other and, more importantly, to make certain Sebastian and Gigi don’t think or feel something is wrong. They are not old enough to understand why we are quarantining, but they are sensitive and empathic children. They know when something is wrong. So, we make sure they don’t feel this way so often. From start to finish, our Memorial Day weekend in 2020 was non-stop activity. Baking, cooking, movie nights, backyard campfire s’mores, homemade popsicles and beer (for the adults). It may be one of the most memorable Memorial Days we’ve had.