Zooming in

A call went out from my twin sister yesterday to my siblings and their children.

Hi everyone. Just checking in that everyone is managing in these interesting times! Is everyone okay? Want to do a group Zoom meeting so we can connect virtually and see each other.

There are five of us and 10 children. We are old enough that most of those children have children. Most of them live within a few hours of each other, but, with the pandemic and all, face-to-face visits aren’t an option. For those living further away, this was a way to see people we see infrequently.

When we met last night, we had six screens open and 12ish people present. I say 12ish because a few people popped in and out. Four of the five siblings were there – the first time we’d had so many of us in one place since Mom’s funeral.

Most had never used Zoom. In some ways, it was a bit of a shambles as we started, people talking at the same time, then no one talking. Eventually we developed a rhythm, the same way we are all developing a rhythm as we all stay at home.

We all checked in on one another, told funny stories, talked more seriously about how this is impacting what we do. As we wrapped up we talked about “Zooming in” again in a week, hopeful that maybe a few others would join us. I’ll let you know if they do.