GO AHEAD, HUG THE KID!

By

Gerry Niskern

All my fellow grandparent friends are saying the same thing. “When I finally received my shot I felt like a dark cloud had been lifted off me!”

Everyone of them went on the say,  “I feel like I’ve lost an entire year. Big chunks of life are gone forever. Babies have grown into toddlers. Birthdays and Christmas has come and gone without the family being together. Important graduations have been missed.”

All my sentiments exactly. I wake up in the morning now and think, ‘One more shot in two weeks and then I can socialize again.’ It’s a wonderful feeling. I think, like many friends, I had just kind of shut down my emotions. It didn’t do any good to complain about the masks, distancing, and just not seeing people “up close and personal.”

Most of all, I’m grateful. I’m grateful for the three vaccines that have been made available thru the diligent work of scientists. I’ve had other vaccines in my lifetime, starting with the one required before I could enter first grade. That one left a big scar!

My kids had all the vaccines required for newborns and boosters later. The Salk polio vaccine was a welcome one for sure. Back then, if your child ran a fever and the doctor couldn’t diagnose it right away, the overwhelming fear was polio.  We’ve all had many vaccines and took them for granted, but this one was different. We had to wait for it to be developed and then wait again for it to be available.

My first thought this morning was, ‘Easter is coming!’ I can actually look forward to a family holiday again. I can see the entire family,  even part of the family that I haven’t been able see for months.  I can visit my favorite coffee place, have a friend over or meet them for lunch.

When I see everyone, I’ll be smiling and I look forward to the day happy smiles can be seen again.

And yes, you can go ahead and hug that grandkid!

“Getting to Know You”

By

Gerry Niskern

Just as I was finally adjusting to life alone, the Pandemic hit. In the early days of Coronavirus 19 I learned to live with “sheltering in” and isolating from everyone. I envied those who was able to get out and go biking, hiking or many other out door activities. Being inside so much was really frustrating.

The health risks, loss of job and political ruin for the country itself seemed without end. But this new way of living also  brought many acts of kindness. Friends called to ask if I needed masks or gloves. A good neighbor had already brought some.

I had phone calls that kept my spirits up. My Grandson called almost every morning just to say hi on his way to  his first job. The good neighbor called every evening before bedtime. However the sight/presence of real live people was what I desperately craved.

And that’s when my two sons came thru for me. One had recently retired and his wife worked from home so they were able to totally isolate. The other son was furloughed from his job and he kept isolated also. One came over in midweek and the other came on the weekend.

I soon began to realize that this pandemic was a gift in disguise! Suddenly both sons  had time,  precious time, unexpected time. Politics dominated for a while. But then our long talks drifted to explore family history and stories. Facts were cleared up about who lived when and where. We talked about food. The  kind that I made when they were kids and the kind that Grandma made, and what out favorite was.

Two hours drifted into three and sometimes four. We covered world events, our different philosophies  about mankind and human behavior. I answered many questions about my and their dad’s childhood, courtship and early marriage.

One son and his wife invited me for dinner occasionally and I was free to go because they had been isolated. It was a welcome break to be in another home.

The other son brought lunch on the weekend and played a board game with me because he knew how much I missed playing games with friends.

Our family always had large gatherings at Christmas, Thanksgiving and other holidays and lots of fun catching up on the news. But quick, short chats were more the norm and  never really knowing much about individuals lives was not satisfying. Then suddenly, the pandemic hit, and  we had unexpected time. Lots of time.

I’m grateful I was  given this chance to know the men my two sons had become.

Game of Life

By

Gerry Niskern

.           I played my first board game, Monopoly, when I was about eight. I loved it!  I used to set my little thimble (why I always chose the thimble I don’t know) at the starting point and vowed to end up with all the property and money too. I admit it, I do like to win. I guess that trait runs in the family, because one of my grandsons used to last in a Monopoly game only until someone else landed on Boardwalk and he didn’t have a chance to buy it. The board would soar into the air and the all the hotels and little houses took flight as he stomped from the room.

Of course, we played board games with our kids when they were little and then the weekend sleepovers of the grandkids were two day game marathons.

In the mean time, we were getting together often with other couples and playing  Trivia Pursuit, Taboo, 25 Words of Less, Pictionary, Telestrations, Catch Phrase, and the list goes on and on. We had one friend that bought new games as often as I did, but if her team didn’t win the newest game, she would invariably remark,”I don’t care for that new game.” And we never played it again!

Games at family gatherings three or four times a year were fun, but not often enough. Then sadly, we lost old friends the game players, one by one, but Ken and I still played Scrabble and Quiddler together and then suddenly, he was gone.

My good neighbor and two grandkids played Trivia Crack on my phone with me for a while, but life was pretty dull without a game once in a while.

Then someone told me about the Meetup groups that played board games. I signed up and played games with friendly players and then later played Trivia with another group of great again.

Then along came Covid 19. Since the Pandemic there has been no gatherings of family or friends to play a good board game. I can’t wait for everyone to be vaccinated so I can get back to winning some challenging games!