So, dear family and friends, this is a story of a weekend that didn’t happen. Well, the weekend happened, but instead of the real events, Jess gave me a gift representing what she’d planned as a surprise for me … for the weekend that didn’t happen.

I’ll open with our Mother’s Day; Sunday, May 10, 2020. As with all of you, our lives are regulated by the medical and governmental powers that be. The traditional Let’s-Take-Mom-Out-To-Dinner celebrations are not an option. I do so hope all you moms and sons and daughters reading this found loving, ratcheted-back means of social distancing and phone and video calls to share with your loved ones.

Rhode Island, like the rest of the world, is shut down because of this Coronavirus pandemic, and has been since March 16th. Although Jess and I live only 30 miles apart, we’re in separate states (this ain’t Texas, remember!). People with out-of-state license plates can only pass through Rhode Island or must quarantine for 14 days. Jess, therefore, couldn’t legally visit me, so we planned that I would visit her at her home in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.

Where to meet? Only “essential” places are open, and cafes for take-out … hmmm. We need a place sheltered from the unusual mid-May Polar Vortex that had swept down on a Polar Express of cold winds.

How about that not-so-famous Cafe AnchorYogaVille?

Out of doors. Restroom inside. Great for social distancing with Sasha and Jess. Her (closed) yoga studio with picnic table outside. Perfect.

So we picnicked and prosecco-ed and shared grand stories of times past, present and future (the past being more nostalgic and fun than the present and unknown future).

Then she said it was time for her to give me my present … and she set a box of tissues between us—to mop up our happy/sad tears.

Jess showed me, page by scrapbook page, the amazing trip she had planned for us way back in December 2019, as a complete surprise to me. Our weekend together came to life for me in the scrapbook she made, subtitled “A Fairy Tale of Pandemic Proportions.”

For the sake of brevity, I’m skipping pages, but as I was turning each page at Jess’s direction, I lived each moment she’d planned as it had happened!

(Scrapbooking, as scrapbookers know, takes time and creativity. Last year Jess’s dad and stepmom sent her childhood boxes they’d stored in their attic. Yes, some of these decorations are from Jess’s Barbie sets.)

Sometime before Mother’s Day, Jess told me as our eyes teared up, she would have called to say she was picking me up at my house early Saturday morning, and for me to pack an overnight bag.

Jess drove me to Providence to the bus station and by then, she told me only where we were going. No details. We boarded our bus that dropped us off at the Port Authority Terminal in New York. The city, that is.

She’d reserved us a hotel in Chelsea and after we checked in, it was time for an afternoon of touring. Since I’ve never been to the Empire State Building, she reserved tickets for us to go to the observation area at the top.

After our tour and a delightful dinner at a stunning restaurant, we went back to our hotel room, tired but happy. I slept all night long, of course, not letting the hustle and bustle and noise of the Big Apple interrupt my sweet dreams of our day!

And then began Sunday morning, Mother’s Day in NYC, walking the Chelsea neighborhood.

So there we were, Jess and I, arriving at a cafe for brunch when who should appear but the NYC branch of our clan, sweet nephews Benjamin and John! They live nearby—and they have been in on this secret since the beginning.

And after much food and fun—with me still not an inkling of what the afternoon will bring—we part with hugs and kisses.

Jess (knowing I don’t like subways!) hails a taxi, telling the driver an address unbeknownst to me.

And we arrive at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on West 46th Street …

… to see the Tina Turner musical!

Now most of you don’t know, but I’m a long-time Tina fan. I have always loved her music and went to see her 60th anniversary show in Austin at the Irwin Center. (She’s 81 now, so do the math!)

Well, we loved the production and our front mezzanine seats were great! Loved the music, the energetic singing and dancing of Adrienne Warren and the cast bringing to life Tina’s amazing and, at times, heartbreaking story.

But all grand and glorious surprises must come to an end … after three curtain calls we strolled out, dancing on the sidewalks to Proud Mary.

We made it back to our hotel and retrieved our luggage, then we left to catch our bus back to Providence!

Oh, what a weekend we had, filled with such surprises, such excitement and happiness and love!

So, family and friends, this is the story of the weekend that didn’t happen. And thanks to Jess, I have the scrapbook to prove it! (Big Smiley Face emoji here!)

I am so grateful to Jess for creating this amazing book, and thanks to all of you for sharing this fairy tale of pandemic proportions with Jess and me.

Much love and safety to all in these oh-so-changed times.

Nancy