Wow… what a week this has been. A roller-coaster of emotions. My lowest day was mid-week as we endured the glacial pace of vote tallying, faced a return to red COVID-19 status and were confronted with the realization that the holiday season would look quite different this year. I kind of wanted to just hide from the world that night. Instead, I joined our Standing Committee pre-meeting social chat and was immediately uplifted by this group of amazingly caring, like-minded people. Reminded, once again, that “community” can live in spirit if not in person.
During the meeting, Lori Grant prompted us to consider what mid-pandemic life would have looked like without today’s technology. After all, Skype was birthed in beta less than 20 years ago and FaceTime and Zoom were just launched this decade. And remember when we couldn’t get constant updates from and pictures of each other via social media?
How fortunate we are to be able to continue to connect remotely when we need it the most. It isn’t ideal but, using the pre-technology lens, it’s a blessing. So let’s challenge ourselves to re-imagine “together” as the holiday season nears. Some ideas:
- Digitize your old VHS or Super 8 films and have an online home movie watching party
- Send a ‘paint by number’ kit and bottle of wine to your friends and have a virtual wine & paint party
- Email out the words of your favorite carols and invite your family and friends to enjoy remote caroling – whether they just listen or join in the singing
- Attend the FCU virtual Thanksgiving gathering on November 20 at 7pm
How will you use technology to re-imagine your festive gatherings?
With gratitude for such a wonderful community,
The Standing Committee – Laura, Lynda, Emily, Martha, Karen, and Jen
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