My Millennial children have always broadened my world – I am now on Twitter! These days they bring new people to love and extended family who care. My youngest and their girlfriend, Daisy, arrived three weeks ago to live with us for a while ……… I just received a beautiful card from Daisy’s Mom – “When life gives you lemons…Just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for ‘making lemonade” for my baby girl (and soup, and comfort, and safety and all the other things you are offering!)” I never met Daisy’s Mom. She lives in New Orleans – far from Boston, but each city is faced with very frightening numbers for the virus. We are now in a new circle of care – for each other, ourselves, and our children.


My son’s fiancée is from the Detroit area. We now include her family in our circle of care.  We just navigated the complex process of deciding to postpone a wedding. A loss for all but something to look forward to now for 2021!


Thanks to my sister, I now participate in a weekly extended family zoom call where I get to see my nieces and nephews, their partners and even a grand niece.  We get silly and talk about food and hair – getting longer and grayer. I now have daily calls at 11:30 with my beloved Aunt who is 92. We talk about everything – the family, quilts, daily schedules, laundry and my Mom who is now gone.


This time of crisis has broadened who we call family and created new paths of connection. At a moment of fear, unknowing, and distancing, the connective tissue is only getting stronger.