Staying in Touch with the Ones you Love By: Miranda Smith

These crazy times just seem to be getting weirder and weirder. With the family holiday seasons coming around, I've been noticing even more how much I miss my family. This is the situation for many families. The normal coming together over the holidays aren't normal any more. 

    Last year for Thanksgiving, my family had twenty-five people over total, including my grandparents, cousins and family friends. My Dad loves to host. This year there were only seven of us. My family of four and a nearby family friend of three that we felt was safe to see. However, it was still a very lovely time. We played games, wished our families happy Thanksgiving from afar (making it feel a little more "normal") and did the things we usually do on Thanksgiving just with less people. I have to realize how lucky I am that I still got to do all of those things. Someone in my Mom's class was spending Thanksgiving by herself and ordering food in, because it was too dangerous to see her daughter living in New York only an hour away.

    As the news seems to be bringing more information about the rising number of cases and the dangers of going out and seeing people, Christmas (and other holidays) are probably going to be even more different. It's okay to be sad about the things that are going to be different and the "traditions" normally done might not be done, but it's important to remember how lucky we are to even stay in touch with our families and do a some form of a normal holiday. I'm kind of getting off topic, but my main point is to stay in touch with the ones you love. It really is a type special when I Face Time my grandma and grandpa and see their smiling faces. This is a weird and hard time, but we will get through it.