The annual neighborhood Memorial Day wiffle ball game had to put off in 2020 because of fears of Covid-19.

The annual neighborhood Memorial Day wiffle ball game in 2021 didn’t happen because we no longer feared Covid-19. The Foster family had every intention of playing the annual game between the adults and the children between the Hodges, Ashbaugh’s, and Coldren’s.

However, the game never took place. Instead of taking the field, we gathered around the swimming pool and caught up on everybody’s lives. Among the group, we have a high school graduate, a college graduate, two freshmen at Michigan State University, and five grandsons from ages 2 to 5 who tried their best to eat more than the adults.

We caught each other up on life after a year of avoiding one another. Everybody aside from the grandsons was fully vaccinated in part because we longed for moments like this. We wanted life to be as normal as possible. It felt great to laugh again, to hug again, and to swap family stories.

The CDC recommended fully vaccinated people can gather outside without a mask. We can go inside bars, and restaurants mask less also. We took full advantage.

My wife, Abs, who I jokingly call Dr. Fauci, because she put me on lockdown during the pandemic, did not attend the game because of work. However, even Fauci got into the act. She surprised me by taking me to the theater to watch A Quiet Place Part II and indoor lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Abs was a little nervous with her walk on the wild side. But she went through with the date.

Life is returning to normal. The next stop for me is Comerica Park for the first Tigers game next Tuesday at full capacity. In July, our bars and restaurants will rumble again at full capacity as long as there are no more Covid outbreaks.

Two days after my first visit to Comerica, I flew to California to attend my daughter’s graduation from Stanford University at the school football stadium.

We got the news two weeks ago that we’d be able to attend. But social distancing remains in place, and we must prove provide proof of full vaccination to gain entry. After an amazing four years on the west coast, I did not want to see Celine graduate in front of a computer screen.

I wanted to be there and take pictures of her on campus. I wanted to laugh with her. Cry with her. And be a proud dad as she took her final walk on campus.

We’ve been a broken nation the last year. People lost jobs.

Businesses closed, never to open again. And we fought each other and needlessly shamed folks.

Now I look forward to sharing a Blue Moon with you on the Pepsi Porch. I look forward to the Lions’ season opener at Ford Field against the San Francisco 49ers.

I look forward to laughs, jokes, and slaps on the back. In other words, life is returning to normal, and nobody is happier about that than me, even though it prevented me from having a big four-hit game during the annual neighborhood wiffle ball game.

You can follow Foster on Twitter at TerryFosterDet.