Surviving Your 18th Birthday at Home, With Your Family

Of all of us in this household, COVID-19 prevention measures have probably had their greatest impact on Glory.

Schooling from home seems to have caught many educators flat-footed. Diploma exams have been cancelled for this year, and since delivering tests remotely is kind of a non-starter, it is presumed that her remaining marks will be based solely on assignments. In one of her classes, she had only received one mark prior to isolating at home, and her first assignment was fairly "fluffy" by pretty much any measure. She needs good marks if she wants to get into nursing, a very competitive program, and has been exerting very decent discipline while studying at home.

But being at home has also meant trying to do her dance classes over Zoom and may have also jeopardized her plans to spend part of her gap year working in Churchill, as Fenya did. And meanwhile, there is a very real possibility that this year's graduation ceremonies will be cancelled or postponed, a very major milestone that might happen later or not at all.

And speaking of milestones - she just turned 18 years old on Friday.

She's been a champ, honestly, far better than I would have been under the same circumstances, but her celebration planning has gone from a night out with friends, to a party at the house, to a cocktail gathering of less than a half-dozen to... the four of us, at home.

I am happy to report that a good time was had by all!

Changing out of the pyjamas, sweats and hoodies that have characterized our wardrobes in isolation, we dressed in clothes befitting a casual, but significant, night out. Glory picked out a tropical shirt for me, and made sure her hair and makeup were sorted out before dinner. Choosing the meal on your birthday is a tradition I am sure we share with many households, and Glory's request was for "Pub Grub." Audrey made sure that we had chicken wings, mozza sticks and a veggie tray on hand for dinner, and her first highball of drinking age.

After dinner, she opened her gifts - a pair of sunglasses, a lovely blanket depicting a pair of dance shoes, a huge bag of candy that her best friend delivered to our step that afternoon, along with a six-foot hug. And other gifts, of greater or lesser appropriateness.

After the gifts, we made our way downstairs for games and cake. We got in a couple of games of Drinking Jenga and then Glory taught the rest of us how to play beer pong, a divertimento she had learned at a birthday party of her cousin's.

As part of her gift, Fenya had baked a decorated a simple yet beautiful cake that we adorned with a sparkler. and sang "Happy Birthday" as it sizzled away.

Following the cake, we lured Glory outside. Audrey had dropped a note in our neighbours' mailboxes earlier in the week, asking if they could turn on their Christmas lights Friday night, in order to “brighten Glory's day." Delightfully, they did, as documented in this blurry phone video.

Singing, drinking, laughter, and even some dancing rounded out the evening, which our beloved offspring took into the wee hours.

The next morning, we extended the festivities by packing a light lunch and some snacks into the Flex, and hitting the open road. Our destination: the mountains!

Once out of the city, the highways were sparsely attended, and we nearly had them to ourselves once we left the Yellowhead. We stopped for a bathroom break just south of Lodgepole, and refuelled at Nordegg. 

The previous night's revelries had taken their toll on all of us, especially Audrey and Glory in the back seat, but we proceeded on nonetheless.

Unsure if the non-commercial Icefields Parkway would even be accessible, we were delighted to find the gates open and highway 93 almost devoid of moving vehicles. We saw a few parked at some of the hiking trailheads, however. After several unsuccessful attempts, we also found an open outhouse, much to our collective relief.

We stopped several times to stretch our legs, take pictures, and draw deep lungfuls of crisp mountain air. Most of all though, we enjoyed being out of the house, and together.

It made for a long but lovely day, prolonged by our stopping to watch a pair of coyotes stroll across a frozen lake as we approached the park gates.

It was by no means the 18th birthday that Glory had hoped for, but given the constraints of our current situation, I can't help but feel it went unreasonably well.

What a privilege to live in proximity to such wonders, and with people of such an accommodating nature!