Ah birthdays! Those special days when you get takeout and get tucked away from the world. Wait, am I confusing birthdays with something else? Despite current circumstances, Jason and I weren’t going to let COVID keep us from celebrating our birthdays properly. With the excessive amusement oozing from the paragraphs below, it should be apparent that social responsibility and fun can walk hand in hand like a conscientious unicorn and a fireworks-flavored ice cream cone.

My birthday started out just right. Jason made me yummy German oven pancakes for breakfast. I guess I have a well-deserved reputation for being a pancake porker. In the afternoon, we headed up American Fork Canyon expecting to hike to Silver Lake, but the crowds convinced us to change plans. We ended up on the Deer Creek-Dry Creek Trail. Going as far as time allowed on this path, we saw no one. Before starting our return journey, Jason pulled a kouign amann, candle, and lighter from his backpack. There on the slopes leading to Box Elder Peak, he sang happy birthday to me. Jason truly is a rock star of a husband.

After our hike, my parents and sister joined us in our backyard for Indian takeout and Queen Emma cake. It was as close to a birthday party as one can get these days.

On Jason’s birthday, I made a brunch of waffle iron hash browns and Aussie breakfast mess. Did making this meal take longer than it should have? Isn’t the answer to that question always yes? Oddly enough, the breakfast mess was much tidier than the hash browns as the hash browns were nearly impossible to remove from the waffle iron. Sorry Ree Drummond, but I was not impressed.

After that feast, we just kept eating. For dinner, I took Jason to Afterword in Heber. This restaurant was chosen specifically because of its ample outdoor seating though the food alone would have been sufficient reason for a visit. We shared the fried chicken supper for two, which seemed more like fried chicken for 10, but the best part of our meal was the humble buttermilk biscuits and collard greens. I’m pretty sure I could gleefully eat those biscuits every day from now until forever.

We often go to a summer box office hit on Jason’s birthday. That tradition was maintained this year. Raiders of the Lost Ark was a huge hit back in 1981. The drive-in provided a chance for us to enjoy this classic once again.

COVID isn’t the ruiner of all things, but it is the changer of many things. Even in 2020, celebrations can occur with a few alterations. We didn’t let COVID wreck a couple of perfectly good birthdays.