“She showed them her new shoes and big-girl backpack”
Nora Wood reunited with her grandparents after nearly two years apart. Her dad, ERIC WOOD, tells the story
“MY PARENTS LIVE in Nova Scotia, and the last time we saw them was Thanksgiving in 2019. During the pandemic, my daughter, Nora, would FaceTime with her grandparents every day, sometimes twice, anywhere from five minutes to an hour at a time. They’d play dolls virtually and create imaginary worlds together. They’d even do story time so Nora could work on her reading skills. But video calls weren’t a substitute for seeing each other in person. We missed each other terribly.
“In the weeks leading up to Nora’s seventh birthday at the beginning of July, our entire family got their second vaccines, and my wife, Stephanie, and I decided it would be safe to throw Nora an outdoor birthday party. The best part? My parents would make the trip to Toronto so they could attend.
“The day they arrived, Nora waited for them out on the street. When they spotted each other, I could see my mom’s eyes filling with tears. It was amazing to watch them hug for the first time in almost two years. It felt like we all let out a collective sigh.
“Nora was so excited to see her grandparents. She was the Tasmanian devil out of the gates, and my parents did their best to keep up. While we were getting dinner ready, Nora was busy showing them all her new things in the house, like her new shoes and her big-girl backpack. She learned to play the piano during the pandemic, and my parents have been treated to hundreds of virtual recitals, but she was excited to play them a song in person. She did ‘Ode to Joy’ and some exercises from her piano book.
“We spent the next day together, wandering around Riverdale Park and exploring the outdoor picnic and patio area at Gerrard East Market. The day before the birthday party, my parents took her to the park while Steph and I got everything ready.
“Nora’s favourite animal is the llama, so the whole party was llama-themed. We had llama dishes, napkins, tablecloths and a five-foot-high walking llama helium balloon. The guest list was mostly adults— Stephanie’s family and my parents. We started the party at 2 p.m., just after lunch. That way, if people didn’t feel comfortable eating, they didn’t have to. We prepared individual cups of chips, pretzels, fruit, and vegetables and dip, and kept a cooler of beers, White Claws and canned Caesars so people could help themselves to drinks.
“It felt a bit strange at first, since we hadn’t hosted a group of people in a long time. We didn’t even know how to greet each other. Do we fist bump? Can we shake hands? Do we wear our masks? Some people kept their masks on the whole time, and others only masked up when they were standing close to someone. At one point, I stopped and thought, Wow, it feels good to have people here. This feels like normal again.
“Nora’s an articulate kid, and several times throughout the day, she turned to me and said, ‘Today has just been the loveliest day.’ It was an emotional day for her—to have all the people she loves, who she hadn’t seen in a year, come to her house to play and visit. She had the time of her life.”