Before COVID times, we got together with a group of friends every month to watch a movie, share snacks, and just chat and connect.

Of course, pandemic restrictions have completely shut that down. We initially couldn’t figure out how to get together with people, and we put movie nights on hold along with nearly everything else. But at Christmas, we always watch A Muppet Christmas Carol on our movie night. It’s usually such a joyful evening, with kids joining us as we watch this excellent and familiar movie, sing along, even quote along.

Yes, this year we could watch it alone, but to me it felt particularly worth trying to figure out a way to maintain this tradition.

Long story short, we found Google Meet allowed us to share the video and audio directly from the tab and it looked okay. And although it wasn’t the usual thing, I know I felt completely joyful and blessed to see and hear from our friends, and to catch up a little bit. Even though it’s just another video conference, I’m so very thankful for the chance to connect with these friends again in this way.