2020 has been a shit of a year, but in the midst of it all one can still find good. COVID-19 snuck up on me as much as it did everyone else, and being here in Shanghai has made it all that more strange. It was something we were dealing with early in the year, with the government having locked down the entire country more or less for a few weeks while it was still just headlines below the fold on newspapers in Europe. As an American, it’s been hard to hear the stories from my family of their having been in lockdown now for weeks with numbers that just keep climbing.

Easter Brunch

Even so, some good has come. The situation of the world has led me to rekindle my inner-chef; I re-learned how to cook! Around Easter, when the lockdown was in full effect, as little as it was, I had an idea: Easter Brunch with the family would be nice. Most of my family is in Tennessee, my uncle in Texas, and me here in Shanghai. I only see the family maybe once every 2-years, so it was lovely to catch up with everyone… and something we committed to continue.

Closer together

It made me realize that even in the worst of the times, nothing is more meaningful than embracing the ones around you whom you love. Cherish family, even if it’s on a video call, for they are from where we all come or they hold the future for what tomorrow will be.

Since then, I’ve set up several more Zoom calls with family and old friends from my hometown — some people I haven’t seen in 10 years. Being so far apart and with most everyone stuck in isolation has ended up bringing us closer together.