All the good stuff

As my groceries moved along the conveyor belt, the cashier looked up at me and smiled.

“I don’t know exactly what you’re doing,” she said, “but you’re buying all the good stuff.”

I laughed. There were fudgy Berger Cookies, chocolate-covered pretzels from Wockenfuss, Utz crab chips, and Otterbein cookies. Oh, yes. I certainly had the good stuff.

I explained that I was planning a visit to see my sister and her four children.

“If I walk through that door, and I don’t have Berger Cookies, I don’t know what will happen,” I joked.

Naturally, my nieces and nephews would forgive me. But showing up with some Baltimore-made cookies and other treats has always worked well for me in the past. And I’m so, so excited about this visit. I’ve been counting down ever since I realized the vaccine was opening up our world a little bit more.

Since Christmas 2019, we’ve seen my sister Maureen and her children once for about 10 minutes outside. We stood in the cold outside, safely distant, and called out greetings. My children were so disappointed in the whole experience that they didn’t even want to get out of the car. I understood that. It was a poor substitute for real in-person time together. But it was all we had.

This time, though, I’m ready to give and receive hugs. I can’t wait to sit with them and chat. We’re going to enjoy meals together—maybe some of my homemade guacamole to go with all those sweets—and play some games and catch up on all the things you can do best in person. The children will act as if they’ve just seen one another a few days ago—and not forever ago, long before a pandemic started.

And, even if I had to hit two stores to get them, they’ll have enough Berger Cookies to enjoy long after our brief visit ends.

I don’t think I ever took our time together for granted before, but I definitely value it in a new way now.

We’ve missed out on plenty during the pandemic. But we have all the good stuff.

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