What will we remember of this period of social quarantine, if we are fortunate enough to be safe and healthy? There are so many losses, negatives, restrictions and “do with outs” but many have found ways to make lemonade out of the lemons that abound. Staying or becoming connected is such a drive, that our social life seems to revolve around the phenomenon of ZOOM!
Full disclosure: I was terrified of the idea of Zoom, and when my very close friend, Lynn, suggested I consider a Zoom meeting of our Ostomy Support Group, I nearly hung up the phone. Wanting no part of another thing to learn and make part of my life, I rejected out of hand the notion of dealing with Zoom meetings.
But people began sharing stories of Zoom family meetings, Zoom Easter dinners, Zoom Seders, Zoom birthday celebrations, Zoom Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and weddings and unfortunately Zoom funerals. Who was I to remain resistant to the reality of our new Covid life?
Thanks to my friend, Sherri giving me a tutorial, I installed Zoom, and have never looked back. It is user friendly and so far, so good, for hosting and attending meetings. Our Ostomy Support Group had its first meeting a few weeks ago, and we have another this week.
The interesting to me about Zoom is that something that has been a part of the business world for a long time is now mainstream for social use. It was there, waiting for us, waiting to help us navigate these solitary waters where we are all swimming. How fortunate!!! The times clearly make the concept work, and its use and importance is burgeoning.
Meeting with friends and family is fabulous. Reconnecting with people from our past, checking in with groups we miss, catching up across the country or the world…everyone is doing it. A few weeks ago, my granddaughter, Jessie Gollin, and her friends, Charley and Makayla Bazzle hosted a Cabaret Fundraiser for their Moms’ charity, Essential Eats. People are cooking together, training puppies, meeting new grandchildren, and on and on. Our creativity abounds.
I love the social connection, seeing faces of friends and family, laughing as we fill our conversations with anecdotes about our makeup or lack thereof; our hair “styles” or lack thereof. At the end of the day, Zoom has reinforced for me that “people need people’ and with the beauty of today’s technology, we can “be together” while doing what we need to do, by staying apart!
Learn more about Essential Eats here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/essential-eats