“Her birthday was everything she could have hoped for and more, and technology made it possible."
“One of the best things to come out of COVID is the fact that we're even aware of what technology can do for us. Some of this technology was there and maybe was used in companies for video conferencing and stuff, but the average person didn't use it. With Zoom, you have the ability to pull everybody from different areas and get them in one place, together, being themselves and sharing.
For my mother’s 97th birthday party on Zoom, we even had a friend from New York serenade her on a Steinway piano all the way from New York. He had two Steinways in his living room and he played a Ragtime birthday song and then another song that was composed in 1923.
My mother had a wonderful celebration, visiting with about 50 people from all over the country, paced throughout the day. And, in a way, it was better for somebody who is 97 and has limited energy. If everyone in the family had visited and the toddlers had been in the room, she would have been exhausted. She would have loved every minute of it, but she would have been exhausted. Having them on the screen, she could enjoy them but they weren't exhausting. It was really something.
Her birthday was everything she could have hoped for and more, and technology made it possible. I even got to hear my mother’s teenage giggle.
I just can’t imagine the pandemic without these connections, without all this technology. It would have been awful. I mean more awful.” – Barbara #Florida
