It felt good to hoist the old green and gold tailgate tent Sunday afternoon even though:
We’re still in the middle of a pandemic and our infection and hospitalization in this area are definitely trending in the wrong direction.
We’re worried about our friends.
We miss our tailgate buddies and our spot in the shadow of Lambeau Field.
It’s colder than it should be here in Wisconsin and it looks like it’s going to be a chilly week.
Our team played badly.
Still, the brats and burgers smelled delicious on the grill and they tasted even better. And, if you tailgate right outside your own home, you always have access to the bathroom, you don’t have to sprint out of the stadium to beat the traffic, there isn’t any traffic, and you can watch the game from your toasty couch.
I’ll take it.
2020 and its particular challenges have stolen a lot from all of us, so we need to carve out our moments when we can. For us, that was a good old-fashioned tailgate on a Sunday afternoon.
It might seem excessive to pitch a tent and haul chairs and tables from the garage, just for seven people. But, when that tailgate playlist started to roll and the grill to sizzle, we all had to smile.
I had set up tables so that each little group — our travelers, our house dwellers, and my mom could all have space in the driveway to nosh safely. At one point, though, no one could find Grandma Peggy. It turned out she had taken her plate around the corner to the front porch, out of the wind, definitely away from all of us and distant from any of our neighbors who happened to be walking past the house.
“I’m good!” she called out cheerfully. “I’m perfectly comfortable here.”
She cracks me up. She’s better than all of us at staying safe.
Take care out there everyone and, even though they didn’t bring their A game this week,
Go Pack Go!
