When our grandchildren and their parents were invited to spend a week at a friend’s vacation home in western Massachusetts, only two and a half hours away from us, we talked about how we could get together.  Normally, we travel to Maryland to see them several times a year.  But this is not normally.

At first, we thought that they would drive to Boston to spend an afternoon with us.  Then the grandchildren began to worry that they would infect Peter and me with Covid-19, even if they had no symptoms. 

Then Peter and I considered driving to the Berkshires for an afternoon no-touching visit, but for us, five hours of driving roundtrip when we couldn’t even hug the kids ruled it out.

Instead, we had a long Face-Time visit.  We “toured” the house and grounds and chatted with everybody.  It was almost like being there.

Still, I spent the week thinking that they were only 101 miles away.