Our two daughters managed to organize a surprise party on Zoom. They had found friends from different phases of our 40 years together: my siblings, nieces and nephews in Holland, and Axel’s cousins who are nearly like siblings; two of Axel’s housemates in Beirut, who saw the romance start; friends who saw my first marriage fall apart and helped me through the turbulence; friends from our years in Georgetown after we left Brooklyn, from West Newbury, then Manchester; Sita and Jim’s family and friends from Tessa.
People zoomed in from Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Washington State, Maryland, as well as those nearby in Essex County; Holland of course, but also southern France. Two full computer screens with tiny images of people laughing and talking and toasting, one wriggling mass of friends. We had no idea they would have been able to bring togetehr that many people. I had expected just the people who would have been with us in Holland, two weeks from now.
It was a heartwarming reunion. We forgot all about the sadness of not being able to be physically together. People told tales, memories, and we smiled and drank the entire bottle of champagne while eating the frosted heart cake that we had assembled earlier. At the end of our celebration there was music (‘Happy Together’) and we danced – a dance party on Zoom, who would have thought that possible?
The beautiful weather had made way for another cold front that reminds us it is still winter here, even though the calendar says Spring. The daffodils don’t dare to bloom yet, and they are wise. We draw back inside and count our blessings.
Sylvia's Journal 
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