Daughter #1, Photo by Adam Roy Photography

This pandemic has put the breaks on so many things in life that we take for granted. Walking past someone is a pretty basic human experience… never mind going to the movies, visiting loved ones, or planning a trip. However, it has not put the breaks on the strength and power of human connection. Whether it be a grocery errand for a friend, a weekly zoom routine with G-Ma, or even lending a bottle of shaving cream for a science experiment, the power of reaching out, not touching, but reaching out, will never fail us.

I have been home with my family since Marisa and I locked up the shop on March 14th. My loved ones have stayed healthy so far, which is a great gift. We have tried to make the best of it by working on some house projects and getting in more family time; although, the kids are sick of Rummy and I can’t get anyone in the house to play Bananagrams with me anymore. :( Like everyone, we have had our ups and downs.

Watching my hardworking, bright, eldest daughter loose her senior year of high school has not been an up. All the fanfare and fun of senior week, prom, last track season, and even accepted students weekend at her new school are out the window. Erased. But we have been quickly reminded of the power of a gesture. The reminder came to our house on Saturday morning. All of the coaches of the NHS Spring track team came for a socially distanced, yet touching, visit. We were stop #16 on their quest to visit each senior athlete and deliver a Newburyport singlet and flowers. This spring marks the 12th season my daughter has run. Having her beloved coaches personally honor her was something she will always remember. It took effort and time, but it was free and full of love. Knowing the heart behind that coaching staff, I’m guessing they benefitted as much as she did.

I also have a near and dear nephew who graduated this year from URI. He is a gifted athlete with a tremendous work ethic and he values humility. He once finished a high school cross country meet at Maudslay with one shoe in time to score points for his team. He knows how to dig deep, and he is the guy who reminds me that you are only in competition with yourself. Improve for yourself. He has lost his last collegiate running season. It is truly heartbreaking, but there won’t be a pity party.

Another senior I recently came to know is Cam Lasson, a senior at NHS, who is on his way to RISD. He is a gifted artist with a message of good vibes and love for the planet. We were to honor him this spring with a show at the shop for Newburyport’s Spring ARTWALK. The list of events and traditions lost is long, but we must remember that because of that the opportunity is great. If we let go and move forward creatively we stand a chance of letting these young adults know we honor them regardless of these difficult circumstances.

As my heart goes out to all the classes of 2020, I’ve been thinking about what I can do. My oldest daughter once told me she believes, “If you can do something good, you should just do it.“ I have some ideas for her that will go unsaid since she is my blog editor. I have always wanted to collage and frame all the articles and images I can find to celebrate my nephew, and I hope Cam doesn’t forget us when he finds himself in a successful, creative career. Our door is always open if he wants a place to show.

For everyone else, I have a gesture to offer. It’s not going to bring back prom, but it is something I can do. I would like to offer 25% off custom framing for any gift for a 2020 grad. Be it a diploma, an image, or newspaper article, you name it, we would love to help celebrate this year’s seniors. We have designed many interesting projects to celebrate milestones, and we would love to help you celebrate your graduate. This discount will be valid through the summer of 2020.

Beginning Tuesday, May 26th, after hearing from Governor Baker, we will be entering our first phase of opening up the shop. Here is what we can do… Curbside. It’s an unusual concept for a frame shop, but it will have to be enough for now.

For the next few weeks we will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am-3pm. For curbside drop-off simply come by and call the shop, 978-462-0773, and we will get started. We’ll send images of design options for your approval via email or set up a zoom meeting. If you prefer, we are happy to pick up and deliver for you. These details are listed on the “contact us” page of our website.

As always, we will not waiver from our attention to top notch design and a very high standard of execution.

We are looking forward to fully opening safely in the near future. For now, maybe you will let us be part of a powerful gesture you are inspired to make.

Be well,

Patti

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The power of a gesture....