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| Happy 9th Birthday! |
A birthday for the books. On April 25, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Maddy turned nine years old. With Portland under quarantine rules, physical distancing of six feet mandatory, planning a meaningful birthday party took a little creativity.
We surprised Maddy with a revolving door of physically distanced visits from her best friends...starting with Alyssa, ending with Althea. We set up the front yard with plenty of space between our visitors and us. I made brownies for the event, wearing gloves as I prepared them. Armed with hand sanitizer and sterilizing wipes, we were ready and armed against the virus.
The celebration was planned with a spreadsheet indicating times for each visit, and our friends arrived bearing Happy Birthday banners, gifts, well wishes and extending virtual hugs. Maddy kicked around a soccer ball with her friends while the adults chatted. I have to say, after over a month of quarantine, it was very nice to see our friends' faces.
Some day we'll look back on this with wonder.
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Physical Distancing Set-up
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| Alyssa! |
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Mary and her daughter Alyssa
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Henry and Jeff Caudill
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Daynia, Quin, Wyatt and Brett Daby
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Mariela, Jon, Eva and Wilson Daby
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| Eva and Wilson |
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Luella!
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| Christy, Lu and Andy Sweany + their fish |
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| Melissa, Eric and Althea Gregorich |
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Kieran, Brendan, Riley and Megan Flynn
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One happy girl.
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