Easter, Six Feet Apart

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We were required to be six feet apart, and that did something amazing. It stretched our Easter into a great three-day celebration.

Neighbors Shawn, Bob and Logan (9) came for dessert on the porch on Saturday. It was surprisingly warm for late afternoon. For the foodies — we had Caribbean Fudge Pie. I thought something dark and sinful would be appropriate to mark Christ’s full day in the tomb. We enjoyed the easy chat that marks our gatherings, something we have really missed for the past several weeks.

Shawn, Logan, Bob, and John’s feet

Easter Sunday’s weather was uncomfortably cool and windy. We worked out a safe plan for eating at the same table. We held the front door open so that neighbor Joyce wouldn’t need to touch it. She handed us the dessert she had brought, after which we all washed our hands. She sat at one end of the table, and we huddled at the other end. Remember, our hands were all washed at the same time. I placed dishes beside Joyce, and David brought them to us after she helped herself. I used a spatula to put rolls straight from the oven into a bowl, and we used tongs to serve ourselves. If anyone remembers the terribly tasteless rolls last Thanksgiving, I’m happy to say these were much better. I enjoyed hearing about Easter when Joyce was a child growing up in this area. She remembered the church always had an Easter egg hunt, but it had to be in another location. The church property was much too steep to accommodate children and roly-poly eggs. It was a long day for a child. They began with a sunrise service, followed by Sunday School, festive Easter service, and dinner with lots of relatives. When Joyce left, we opened the door so that she wouldn’t need to touch it.

David, Joyce, and John on Easter

Foodies, we had ham, crust-less quiche, broccoli with Hollandaise sauce, sweet potato casserole, rolls, spiced peach salad, and chocolate cake.

Neighbors Connie and Marla came the day after Easter. The big storm passed through during the night, resulting in tornadoes through much of the South. Our area was spared. Despite severe flood warnings, Jonathan Creek stayed in its banks. We had our dinner on the back porch with plenty of space between families.

This looks like an eating contest. It wasn’t.

We all talked loud enough to be heard, so distance was not a problem. There are only days left until they move. We enjoyed hearing more about their new place and how they feel it is the best place for them. How we will miss them!

Marla and Connie

This Easter was a strange one because of the COVID-19 virus, one that will be remembered. I’m sure there are many stories of how people shared the day with loved ones.

Were you able to connect with your favorite people?

Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

Published

38 thoughts on “Easter, Six Feet Apart”

  1. Lockdown here is such that we cannot have visitors lest they give Coronavirus to all the poor pensioners around me, me being far too young for that har har.But I did manage to skype with my daughter and grandchildren in the morning and then with my late wife’s sister and her husband in the afternoon.
    I’ve had Skype for years and used it for mainly instant messaging, now I’m actually using the video camera..Logan must have been so pleased to have got a visit with you and it does look as though you all managed a nice time.
    Massive Hugs

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      1. The virus is a lot more prevalent here. Because I go out to grocery shop, I don’t want to take the chance of introducing anything to them. Our neighbors aren’t neighborly here. When we first moved here, we were similar in age and would get together for all sorts of things. People moved and the young ones have very young kids and different interests. Truthfully they are too busy with work and kid stuff.

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          1. The infusion of young families didn’t revitalize our neighborhood. No one goes out anymore (before the virus). There are several families on my street and I never see their kids playing outside. Mostly they do organized sports or something inside their home. There are only 2 outdoor swing sets in the hood and no one is ever on them. It’s a different time from when I was young. Nice days I was out of the house almost all day.

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            1. Our children were the young ones on our street. John’s sister, with two children, lived next door. The working adults across the street liked watching them, and we had block parties that included all five houses. That was manageable, where a long street wouldn’t be that integrated.

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              1. I’m in a cul de sac! I’ve watched 2 kids grow up from age 8 to 26. I only saw them outside less than a half dozen times and they lived right across the street. You were lucky. When I was a kid, that’s how it was. My aunts and uncles were down the street from us. Lots of parties and picnics and all the kids got along.

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  9. I’m happy you’re able to visit with Logan again – I like what you did for the set-up and practice of safe food handling and practices – you had a very workable solution for your dinner. It was innovative and I like how you said it looked like an eating contest. Easter 2021 will be better except for the absence of your friends, but they are not that far away and I predict there will be more get-togethers to make up for these days with their strange ways.

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      1. Yes – I am very happy to be going back to my office (no one else is there so I’m certainly as safe as I would be at home) and it is very nice to get back to old routines.

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  15. Anne,
    Loved to read about your Easter and how you managed. We had almost nothing in the way of celebrations except in our hearts- my family at home were too busy with hospital and my children were all locked in, though they did get something done for Maundy Thursday in their hostels.
    I am just glad we are being spared this epidemic. Hope Kate is ok.

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  16. Nice, you got to see so many people on Easter. We had a virtual Easter with extended family. I’m the only one who got to be with my 94-year-old parents that day, so I helped them participate on the computer, as well.

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