Social gatherings and celebrations in groups are on pause right now, and many families are having to do without big birthday celebrations, anniversary parties, weddings, and baby showers. We love to see that social distancing is being taken seriously and people are choosing to FaceTime and Zoom these events that we'd so much rather have in person.
As we all try to keep a safe and healthy distance from one another, we're seeing trends pop up that make these uncertain times a little more bearable.
The baby shower is now being reinvented as a drive-by baby shower.
One mom-to-be was surprised by her drive-by shower.
Amy Litz of Santa Cruz, California, is expecting a baby girl in May. Her family and friends got together in a parade of cars outside her home. They held up signs and balloons to shower the mom-to-be with support and love. She stood on her lawn and kept a safe distance from everyone, Newsweek reports.
"I was just so, so surprised; I was crying the whole time," Litz told California TV news station KSBW. "I had been looking forward to our baby shower for quite some time and the fact that it got canceled and you know, just shows what great friends and family we have in our lives and I'm just so blessed."
Another mom-to-be from Maryland was also given a drive-by shower.
Stacey Wolf of Woodbine, Maryland, is due in May, and her friends and family made it so she didn't have to cancel her baby shower. Her reinvented baby shower included a line of around 40 cars filled with baby presents and diapers. Her gifts were dropped at her door following safe social distancing rules.
"I was really surprised when I saw the pink and blue balloons and all the cars out here," Wolf to told WJZ-TV. "It was an overwhelming feeling of love and support, and knowing everybody was here for us no matter what."
In Minnesota, a mom created a celebration for her pregnant daughter.
Bev Johnson set up an event for her pregnant daughter, Jamie, to celebrate her baby that's on the way. Friends and family dropped off gifts for mother and baby and enjoyed cups of coffee while sitting at least 6 feet away from each other. They had a baby shower planned for months and didn't feel the crisis would be over by the due date.
"We're having people drive by to drop off gifts, get a cup of coffee and keep on going. You won't see many people here at one time," Johnson explained to KSTP-TV in Minnesota.
Drive-by baby showers are just one ways people have tried to remain positive.
Families are also hosting car parades to celebrate birthdays amid the pandemic. When Adrian Fioravanti's birthday party was canceled because of going into isolation in March, the second grader from Queens, New York, was bummed, but his friends would soon surprise him with an epic "party" outside his window, and give him an eighth birthday he would never forget.
Having to cancel celebrations and events will continue to be upsetting for people, but social distancing can keep us safe.
No one could have predicted that we would be celebrating life in isolation this year, but baby showers, birthdays, and other milestones can bring us all some joy and newfound gratitude as this virus affects us all in so many profound ways.
Meeting at a distance or virtually are, for now, the best ways to celebrate each birth, each year, whichever way we can.
