Everything is harder in The Time of Covid. Small errands take much longer, finding needed products takes longer and typically costs more. And i our KC who is 16 has his first romance. A is a lovely young woman and KC is a very caring and respectful young man. He has been enarmored of her for over a year. She came to our church last fall and they bonded quickly over shared interests in dance and theater. But they were just friends until the past couple of months.
And Covid makes this so complicated. A does not live in our city. So her "bubble" is not really the same as ours. She is schooling remotely, but like my wife and I , her parents both work outside the home. (Mom is a university professor)
We had to have a weekend where they did not get together because A's mom travelled down south by plane and was down there for a few days to help a friend in crisis. K and I were just not comfortable with A then coming over to our house for the day. It was understood by her parents but it was a hard conversation to have with my teen. It isn't that he was unkind about it. He just looked so crestfallen and it literally made me cry inside.
Her trip quarantine is now over and KC will see A at youth group tonight. He asked if we thought it would be okay for him to hold her hand when they walked to their cars after youth group. We said yes, just to please use the hand wipes in the car afterwards. At some level this all just feels so surreal. I am so proud that he was careful and mindful of the fact that we need to still take precautions, but my heart hurts for the two of them. First loves are supposed to be that time of giddy-anything is possible-the world is full of wonder times. It's not that for them, but it is still special and magical and I am so grateful that it is that.
