When Austin was a wee-tot, he and Keith would go for a walk with Harvey and then meet up with Christine for donuts after she exercised or went to mass.
When Austin was a little older, he would go to church-school. Still Victoria would accompany Keith and Harvey on a morning stroll and then meet Christine and Austin for donuts after they were done with church.
Then, when both kids were going to church, Keith would meet up with the family after they were finished. Christine and Austin would eat a muffin or bagel sandwich, Victoria and Keith would still eat donuts. Sometimes – if the weather permitted – everyone would eat outside, and Adeline would join in.
When COVID hit, Keith tried to maintain a semblance of normalcy, bringing home Entenmann’s donuts for the family to eat every Sunday. Christine didn’t like the donuts, but Keith refused to bring fresh goods into the home unsure of how they were handled before landing at his doorstep. Then, as more was learned about the spread of the infection and it was learned that there were very few data points that traced infection back to goods, Keith was willing to purchase fresh baked items that were packaged in the bakery. Austin was the first to ask Keith to bring home muffins instead of donuts. Once they were double chocolate with a frosting/drizzle on top, muffins became Victoria’s preference as well.
Now, the kids and Christine stay home on Sunday mornings, and Keith goes shopping for groceries when the stores are near empty and have just opened; Keith purchases a 4-pack of double chocolate muffins and the family sits down for breakfast, the only breakfast all week that the entire family eats together.
COVID has constrained us, and those constraints have forced us to adapt our behaviors and now we go to the store instead of Dunkin Donuts. By going to the store instead, our preferences have changed … even Victoria prefers a muffin to a donut on Sundays.
There is a lesson in this … both kids are a still little too young to fully appreciate it.