In a normal year we’ve enjoyed seeing our children then grandchildren sit on Santa’s lap and tell him their Christmas wish list. This year seeing Santa anywhere is uncommon. We all understand why, but it still makes me sad young children aren’t able to participate in this time-honored event. Like so many events they’ve been unable to enjoy this year.

One of our local restuarants has Santa visit each year and much to our surprise he did so again this year. None of the children sat on his lap, but he was there listening to their lists from a distance and wearing a face shield. We had our picture made — yes we took our masks off for the photo but we’d had them on until that moment.

This is one more event we all look forward to seeing back to normal next year.