2020 was a tough year for family togetherness. Once COVID-19 was in full swing we were pretty well cut off. Danielle flew from California for a a couple of weeks while Paula was in the hospital, but we only interacted through the sliding glass doors to our back porch and via cell phone each day after Paula got home. Matt, Stephanie and Ben came to the Beach in July and we got a chance to see them, Stephen, Tanja, Leon and Julian socially distanced on the beach but not inside.

The first break-thru was for Thanksgiving when, after suitable quarantining, we got together at our house outdoors and had a Zoom call with Matt, Stephanie, Ben and Danielle.

We went another step for Christmas. Danielle flew in from San Diego and quarantined alone at the Beach for a week before she came to our house and joined our bubble. After additional quarantining (no happy hours allowed!) we all went to Stephen and Tanja’s on Christmas Day.

While Danielle was here, we took a lot of walks and hikes on the many trails near Winter Springs.

And all the while in DC, Ben was growing and developing. Near-daily FaceTimes kept the family in touch.