I think we’re getting the hang of this social distance hangout thing.

Today, my daughter saw one of her best friends for the first time in a very, very long time. We had the seats prepared for them and when she came to the backyard, they sat far apart from each other in their designated seats.

I worried it would be weird for them.

I couldn’t imagine hanging out with my friend that way when I was a kid. But the more I thought about it, so often when I would get together with my girlfriends - we would just sit and talk.

Some of my fondest memories are sitting around the kitchen table at the home of my twin best friends. We would grab food from the fridge, plop down in our chairs around the circular table, and sit and talk for hours and hours and hours.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so weird afterall?

A little while later, when I went to check on them, I opened the door and to my surprise - they were no longer sitting.

Instead, the music was turned up full volume and they were moving. They were still plenty far apart, but their legs and arms were flying as they jumped and danced to the beat of the music. They were laughing and smiling huge preteen dance party smiles.

It was pure joy.

I closed the door and smiled to myself.

We are doing just fine.

Later today, my other daughter went on a walk with one of her very best friends. My friend and I accompanied them. We all stayed far apart as we walked the winding path through the woods and stopped to visit the farm animals.

The kids visited and my friend and I visited and it felt so familiar. And so normal. Even with the distance between us.

And once again I realized, we are doing just fine.

We are figuring this out. We are turning social distance hangouts into dance parties.

We are finding joy.

We are moving forward.

One day at a time.