PERFUME AND ZOOM

We’re home with no place to go. Well, that’s not totally true. We do have Zoom parties.

When we logged onto Zoom for the Passover Seders, our granddaughter’s first birthday, a cousin’s 83rd birthday, a radio summit, and more, I donned bright clothing and, of all things, perfume. That’s right. If I’m going to a party, I’m 100 percent in party mode.

This probably all stems from the way I was raised. My parents insisted you don’t go like a ragamuffin. For a family outing, be it the High Holidays, a wedding, or any other life cycle event, they would buy new clothes for us, right down to the underwear. As part of our upbringing, we were taught to bring honor to the event by being clean and neat.

A small collection of used perfume bottles sits atop a bookcase in our bedroom, but for these lockdown parties, I wanted to go all out. I went into the purse I bought for our daughter’s wedding celebration last June and pulled out the seasonal Mediterranean Honeysuckle fragrance by Aerin.

As each person joined the Zoom meeting and appeared on the screen, I felt ready to party. A girl can dream.

When I think of a ragamuffin, I think of my favorite childhood character, Pippi Longstocking. I can hardly wait to introduce my granddaughter to Pippi and perfume.