New ways of socializing

Sunny

Sunny

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Location
Maryland
The human race is so good at adapting to changed conditions! One example is the use of Zoom for meetings, parties, discussion groups, musical performances, and so on.

Here's a nice one: Yesterday I "attended" a baby shower for my granddaughter, who is expecting in January. It was arranged by her sister (my other granddaughter), and friends from all over the country were invited, plus grandparents from both sides, parents, uncles and aunts, etc. The expectant parents live in Chicago; their friends and family who attended were from Texas, Pittsburgh, New York, California, Florida, and other points east and west. We felt like we were all in one room.

The nicest thing about it was that it had nothing to do with baby gifts. When the invitations went out, they included several web sites where they were registered for baby items they liked, just in case anyone wanted to send something. It worked the same as a wedding gift registry.

But the shower itself consisted of advice for the new (first-time) parents, expressions of love and support, etc. About 2 dozen people came, and I was amazed at the amount of wisdom that came through in that one-hour event. (Example: "Don't worry about whether you're doing it "right." There is no right way for everybody; your instincts will tell you the right way to be a parent. And you two will be awesome parents; that is one lucky baby!")

It was so much more meaningful than the usual oohing and aahing over cute gifts, though they got plenty of them too.

This kind of event may be one of the (very few) good things to come out of the pandemic.
 

Pepper said:
Zoom is a blessing. Best wishes to you & your family.
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I agree. Our younger son, wife and granddaughter moved 500 miles away, so we Zoom with them. Also, I have been attending religious services remotely.
WE just bought a laptop to make it easier, as opposed to my desktop.
 
We do Zoom with my wife's family in So California. Not often, but often enough (for me) LOL

One thing for sure, not everyone in her family is as "computer nerdy" as our niece and us. Her sister and brother have had a hard time getting on. Not due to their computer, but due to their lack of knowledge of how to use Zoom.
 
Several Science Fiction books three and four decades ago had people who's only communication with others was by internet
There were no face-to-face contact, to do so was unthinkable.
 
Personally, I’m more than ok with no face to face contact. I don’t do Zoom , Skype or Microsoft Teams but my husband often does. Sometimes he forgets he still has his mic on ....😌

One thing I find FAR easier to do is counselling. It’s so much easier talking in the comfort of my own home than sitting in a stuffy office. Who cares about the ugly cry when no one can see me. It’s also easier not having eye contact.
 
@Keesha
Have you met your counselor before?

I have to have a new one, as my former one just gave birth, but she was only my therapist a couple of months; the one before her was with me for a couple of years, don't remember how long. The newest one called to set up first appt. The clinic I go to has a rule that a patient can't have medications without therapy, minimum 2 times per month.
 
Sunny said:
The human race is so good at adapting to changed conditions! One example is the use of Zoom for meetings, parties, discussion groups, musical performances, and so on.

Here's a nice one: Yesterday I "attended" a baby shower for my granddaughter, who is expecting in January. It was arranged by her sister (my other granddaughter), and friends from all over the country were invited, plus grandparents from both sides, parents, uncles and aunts, etc. The expectant parents live in Chicago; their friends and family who attended were from Texas, Pittsburgh, New York, California, Florida, and other points east and west. We felt like we were all in one room.

The nicest thing about it was that it had nothing to do with baby gifts. When the invitations went out, they included several web sites where they were registered for baby items they liked, just in case anyone wanted to send something. It worked the same as a wedding gift registry.

But the shower itself consisted of advice for the new (first-time) parents, expressions of love and support, etc. About 2 dozen people came, and I was amazed at the amount of wisdom that came through in that one-hour event. (Example: "Don't worry about whether you're doing it "right." There is no right way for everybody; your instincts will tell you the right way to be a parent. And you two will be awesome parents; that is one lucky baby!")

It was so much more meaningful than the usual oohing and aahing over cute gifts, though they got plenty of them too.

This kind of event may be one of the (very few) good things to come out of the pandemic.
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And I bet you didn't have to play any of those stupid baby shower games, either!
 
No, there wouldn't have been time for games even if we wanted to. We were limited to one hour. At the end of the "meeting," some of them brought their babies over to "wave" at everyone. And a couple of them who didn't have babies brought their cats.

But what really knocked my socks off was all the excellent, mature advice from their friends, average age about 30. They sounded like old, wise "tribal elders!"

I just asked my granddaughter where the idea came from, and she said she and her sister had both been to Zoom showers earlier this year, and pieced it together from the best parts of those. So I guess the idea has caught on.
 
Pepper said:
@Keesha
Have you met your counselor before?

I have to have a new one, as my former one just gave birth, but she was only my therapist a couple of months; the one before her was with me for a couple of years, don't remember how long. The newest one called to set up first appt. The clinic I go to has a rule that a patient can't have medications without therapy, minimum 2 times per month.
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No. Not this one.
 
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@Keesha
I meant did you ever meet your counselor face-to-face. This new one who called me---I've never seen her before, she will just be a voice. Don't care for that.
 
My family seems to be into Zoom a lot; maybe all families are by now. We meet once a week for a Zoom discussion and movie review. We take turns recommending movies to stream, then the next week we discuss them. There usually isn't a unanimous opinion, but that's fine, our discussions are always affable and respectful. At the end of each round of everybody recommending one movie, we vote electronically on our three favorites. My grandson (the tech nerd of the family) compiles the results and emails them to everyone. It's really great fun, and I recommend it to everyone who meets regularly. (Doesn't have to be family, of course, it would work with friends too.)
 
Butterfly said:
And I bet you didn't have to play any of those stupid baby shower games, either!
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Shower games. Ugh... My feeling is that if you can't throw a decent party without adding banal shower games that interrupt the flow of the afternoon, co-host with someone who can.

As for Zooming, while it's obviously not the same as being in the same room with a group of friends, it's a whole lot better than nothing. I gather weekly with HS friends who are now scattered across the country, and less often with a family group, and also with some local friends.

Sunny, I'm going to offer up your suggestion about the weekly movie. It sounds like a winner.
 
Jules, not sure, but I think Facetime is only available on Apple devices. Zoom works on all of them, it's a regular Web site.

Star, great! Let me know if it catches on with your family.
 

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