December 26, 2012
The earth has made a tour around the sun once more and Christmas has come and gone. Last year, Covid cast it's Grinch-y shadow long before the Big Day.. This year it has rolled out in a totally different way. Plans were made and expectations were high for family and friends to get together.. However, the closer we got to the holiday it became clear that the new variant was spreading rapidly. Plans began to shift and morph. Last minute adjustments were made and then those had to be changed again, for many people. Stories will be told for decades how families dealt with the Covid Christmas Shutdown of 2021.
Our Christmas celebrations went through some of the same adjustments as many others. With only days to go, our away-from-home Christmas plans were cancelled and we went shopping for a small turkey to fill the gap.
With so many treats in the house designated for Christmas Eve feasting and no guests to be coming, we decided to skip the main course of homemade tortiere. We popped that into the freezer, opened an can of clam chowder and had soup along with our fill of snacks for supper. Easy for the cook!!!
A last minute cancellation on Christmas morning brought our festive brunch with friends to a halt. The ham and cheese strata required cooking but the cook had a delicious sleep in and it was decided that the meal could wait to be enjoyed until supper time. And so it was!
So here we are on Boxing Day. the small turkey will be cooked today and that means leftovers for a looooong time. Happy Cook! There is an abundance of Christmas baking, some to be enjoyed in the next few days and much to be put into the freezer to be brought out when we all can gather once more.
As I write this I realize how interested I am to hear some of the stories of how the Covid shutdown affected the celebrations of others. I am sure that all of the human emotions possible have been in play. I think there is a book just waiting to be written on this topic.
As for us, this Christmas Day we spent a quiet day on the phone visiting, and having long chats with family and friends. We sent and received pictures of what was going on in other places. We shared the joy of the season and caught up on the news of loved ones. And really is that not what Christmas is all about?