This past weekend, my nephew Rory turned 2! I was excited his birthday fell on a day I had off so I could go to the little party my brother and sister-in-law were going to have for him. It was just going to be a party with family, so it wasn’t going to be a big gathering. But it was still a nice day I could spend with family.
And I was so excited to give Rory his gift. I had let my brother and sister-in-law know about the gift in advance, but I got him a balance bike! I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t get it from someone else and that they would have a helmet ready for him, so I couldn’t make it a total surprise. But at least it was going to be a surprise for Rory.
Since I couldn’t wrap the gift, I knew I had to get a really good bow for it. I found a bow that is supposed to be the type you put on a car if you give someone a car as a gift, but I figured a ridiculously big bow was the right choice. And when I put the bow on it, it was almost bigger than the bike!
The plan for me was to drive up to Santa Barbara that morning, spend the late morning and afternoon with my family, and drive back to LA in the late afternoon or early evening. It’s pretty much what I do every time I go up there since I just go for the day and not spend the night. And that morning, I was preparing to get into my car and make the drive when plans changed quite a bit.
Unfortunately, some of my family was exposed to Covid and things weren’t going to be able to happen the way we had planned. Because I wasn’t with my family while they were likely most contagious, I wanted to try to stay as safe and healthy as possible. But I wanted to still give my nephew his bike and try to celebrate him a bit. So I talked to my family about it and we decided that I would drive up to give Rory his gift, but I would stay at the end of the driveway so we would be outside and I would be at a distance. It’s not what I wanted to do, but it was what needed to be done so I could see everyone that day and also not put myself at extra risk.
The drive up to Santa Barbara isn’t that bad, and I’m glad there wasn’t really any traffic so it was a very simple drive. And I was able to bring the bike to their front porch before walking back so I could keep a bit of distance from my family. But I was able to stay there for a little bit so I could see Rory getting his bike and I think he liked it!
He didn’t like the helmet he needs to wear while riding it, but he was checking out the bike and I think that he’ll get more excited about it the more he gets to play with it. And I know he loves seeing kids at the park on scooters and bikes, so now he can join in too!
I didn’t get to see Presley because she was napping while I was there, but I knew since I was only going to be there for a few minutes that could be a possibility. I wish the timing worked out better, but it is what it is. I was glad that Rory seemed to be warming up to me more. I know I don’t see him that often so he can be a bit shy. But this time he was much more smiley and happy while I was around. He did still seem a bit more excited to wave goodbye to me, but that might have been because they were going into the house to play with his other new toys and he was just more excited about that.
I wish I could have spent more time with my family and gotten to celebrate Rory’s birthday more, but I also know we are still dealing with a pandemic and there was no need for me to be exposed. And staying safe and healthy now makes sure that I can celebrate more birthdays in the future so missing one isn’t the worst thing. And fortunately, Rory is young enough that he probably won’t remember that I had to miss this birthday with him.
And I am grateful that it seems like my family is going to be ok. This is the first time my family has been this affected by the pandemic and I know that we are very lucky that we have gone so long without having to worry this much. And we are very fortunate that even with this situation we are not as affected as so many others. This might not be the way we all wanted to celebrate my nephew’s 2nd birthday, but at least we did get to celebrate together (at a distance) in a way.
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Celebrating My Niece’s Birthday (or Another Santa Barbara Day)
Another Santa Barbara Day (or A Little Bit Of Social Interaction)
A Little More Time In Santa Barbara (or Hanging Out With My Sister-In-Law)
A Santa Barbara Afternoon (or Celebrating My Future Nephew!)
A Bridal Shower Celebration (or My Morning In Santa Barbara)
A Big Family Day! (or A Birthday Party and Meeting Presley)
