Fun Friday – 3 Tips for Celebrating a Graduation During a Pandemic

 

Winter, spring, summer, fall, and pandemic; these are all seasons. It’s time for this season to end. Until it does, many are finding creative ways to carry out their special celebrations – weddings, birthdays, and graduations. Today let’s talk about graduations.

My son called me and said, “Ma guess what? One of my professors asked me to give the commencement speech.”

I checked the date on my phone to make sure it wasn’t April Fool’s Day. My son reassured me that he was not kidding around. When his words sank in, I dropped the phone and started jumping and shouting.

He brought me back to reality, “Oh yeah, we only get three tickets.”

My enthusiasm deflated like balloons at the end of a party. “See if there is anyone who won’t use all of their tickets.”

The first three tickets were already spoken for and we still had my brother and a couple others who wanted to attend. A couple of days later my other son calls and says, “Ma, how many hotel rooms do we have? Derrick is coming with us.”

“I’m not sure what type of math you’re doing, but three tickets and seven people don’t add up to enough.”

During a pandemic there are restrictions on gatherings. In this instance of a graduation ceremony families are allowed three tickets and are required to sit in pods (only their families). How do you celebrate a graduation with restrictions? Here are 3 tips:

1.      Take the focus off what you can’t do – instead focus on how you can creatively work within your guidelines. The ceremony we will attend is outside. We are hoping our extra family members can listen outside the walls, fence, or whatever is there. If not, we’ll give our best attempt at using social media to include them.

2.      Celebrate with family after the event – An outdoor feast can be a safe be a safer bet for family to celebrate your special event. If there is hesitation, ask family to wear masks. Do what works best for you and your family.

3.      Create a keepsake – we chose to order personalized masks with our last name and a graduation cap graphic. We kept it simple and ordered a dozen – for those who will attend the graduation, and those who will cheer from outside the gates. I told them, “Just pretend you’re at a drive-in movie. Maybe I can ask the organizers to turn the sound system up.”

Those are my somewhat real solutions to attending a graduation during a pandemic. I’ll give you an update after the event.

What tips do you have for celebrating a graduation during a pandemic?