An Unexpected Collection

Freya's Spoon

(Submitted by Freya’s mother, Tracy.)Freya (Age 6) loves banging pots and pans for the healthcare workers. In a letter she wrote to the healthcare workers she said: "I think you are awesome because you are brave and you are keeping the virus away from me. Thank you!"On the night the spoon broke, she heard the banging start and ran to get her favourite pot (i.e. loudest) and a wooden spoon that we've had since before she was born.We've all enjoyed seeing the faces of neighbours we've never met on the balconies across the alley. As we share smiles and waves it has helped us to feel connected to our community in this unusual time.

Georgia's Spoon

Submitted by her mother, MandyWe have had many dented pots and broken spoons along the way ... and this spoon in particular was my 11 year old daughter who proudly broke it.This one caught my eye because it looked like a mini heart where it split at the top for me so I kept it.Every evening Georgia runs to the front porch and hollars “wooohoooooo” throughout the neighbourhood banging away accompanied by one of her brothers or us. Every day she says “I am cheering for you mommy.”I am a public health nurse and have been working since the pandemic began. In the beginning I broke out in tears every 7 pm because I was grateful for the gathering and togetherness the pandemic was causing but I was also scared, speechless, and felt absolutely helpless.Scared because so much unknown as the devastating news spread across the world. Helpless when a dear nursing friend tested positive and ended up on a ventilator, while another friend’s aunt was put on a ventilator and her parents hospitalized due to COVID-19. And as if that wasn’t enough... terrified when another colleague’s parents in law were COVID-19 positive and her brother in law ended up on a ventilator.It all just was hitting too close to home. I was scared. As we prepare for the potential second wave, the fear is still there, but we need to stay united. We need to stay true to one another. We need to keep banging.This broken spoon symbolizes to me a reminder to keep sending love to your family, love to your friends, love to yourself, love to the universe. Continue to be calm, be kind, be safe … and bang those pots, pans and spoons until the battle is over.

Mandy's Spoon

Broken hearts are happening from near and far, Everyone’s missing loved ones and their hearts all have a little scar. The virus keeps expanding and affecting so many lives, How do we move forward when the virus is multiplying by fives? It was a gray rainy day when my heart spoons got banged up and broken, And my serving spoons were now left as a reminder little token. It reminds me that even through some of the silver linings of the quarantine, All we really want is to protect everyone with a vaccine. The day the heart spoon broke I felt it hit my core, this pandemic was really becoming a bit of a bore. I thought what am I to do as a mom, wife, sister, daughter and nurse? When schools closed, jobs lost, people sick…could it really get any worse? We have so much sadness but so much to be grateful for, We all wish we could get rid of the virus and purchase a vaccine at the store, But we have to stay strong, positive and united… Can you imagine life going back to normal? Oh I am so excited! But the pandemic continues and we are not sure where we are going, We watch the numbers and pray your loved ones have not been affected, Because my heart goes out to you if COVID was detected. Keep banging your spoons, pots and pans, Show the health care providers that we are their biggest fans, Cause one day we hope life gets back to our normal pace, And we can all hug again and show up face to face.

Lori's Spoons

The broken spoons belonged to a beloved Aunt of mine who died 2 years ago. She was 80 years old and never had kids of her own. She was a bit of a second Mom to my 4 brothers and sisters and me. We are Italian, so she was called Zia Anna (pronounced dzia, for Aunt). The Italian part is only important insofar as she had many wooden spoons, all used to stir delicious sauces the scent of which always filled the air in her house. My childhood memories are full of her stirring sauce with wooden spoons. When she died, the only things of hers I really wanted were her pasta rolling pin and her wooden spoons. The spoons, as you can imagine are evocative, beloved objects for me, which I also used to stir (slightly less) delicious sauces. They were sturdy, quality spoons and I loved them. Because they seemed so sturdy, we decided to use them to bang pots to show our appreciation for all the folks putting themselves at risk in order to look after the rest of us. We live across from Mt. St Joseph hospital, so it seems particularly important for us to make a ruckus each night. The first spoon broke on the 2nd day and the 2nd spoon on the 4th or 5th. We still use them, broken as they are, to make some noise each night. I have a third spoon of hers but I have put it aside and we have moved on to the dollar store wooden spoons which are faring surprisingly well! I think my Zia would have approved of the reason the spoons are now in pieces and would have liked that they were used to show appreciation. She was very well looked after by nurses and doctors in her last days and was very appreciative of her care. She would have liked that we are thanking them for what they do.

Evan's Spoon

Every night at dinner we say what we are thankful for. I am thankful for the first responders, my mommy homeschooling me, my dada working extra hard and I am happy that he is not traveling anymore. I bang the pots as well because I have my sister and have someone to hang out with. (Age 9)

Leona's Spoon

“Tonight we banged our pots and pans so hard for the first responders that we broke our wooden spoon!” Our hearts are with you and we wish we could do more. (Age 7 also the spoon that started this project.)

Michelle's Spoon

I bang my pots and pans, ring our bells, hoot and holler for the people on the front lines, for people working full time jobs at home and for those who have lost their jobs. I am in awe of parents homeschooling children & taking care of animals while completing other daily activities like going to the grocery store that takes longer than you think for us all to be safe. I am happy for the slow down and yet the pace can be just as fast in a different way. COVID-19 has brought us much chaos, sadness and anxiety but it has also sparked in me the gift of gratitude and perspective. It was all getting a little too crazy in our life. Too many activities for the kids, too many business travel trips for my husband and then one day, it all just stopped. We felt lucky to have adopted a new puppy at the end of January and he has been a great companion for all of us through this crazy time. He has been our walking and cuddle buddy. I feel comfortable in this slower world to let my kids take him on walks by themselves. My kids have taken up more biking, have learned to skateboard and roller blade. Taekwondo is now on zoom for my daughter. She loves to see her friends this way. We barely drive our cars anymore. We walk where we need to and listen more intently. The flowers and cherry blossoms are humming with bees! We pick up as many grocery items in our neighbourhood as possible. Supporting local businesses and restaurants with delicious take out. My son let me give him a COVID (hair)cut. We do miss our families in Ontario and have had to re-evaluate vacation plans. Nonetheless, feeling so thankful that our family is safe and healthy. We can’t wait to see our friends and families and give them the biggest hugs. I know that from now on, I will never take a hug for granted. A hug is sometimes just what we need.

Tomas' Spoon

Every night at 7:00pm my family goes out on our balcony and bangs on noisy things like a metal bowl, a little drum and a real cow bell. One night I started to bang this spoon on a metal bowl. Then, I hit my spoon too hard on the bowl and it broke, and the bowl slipped out of my hand and fell down into the garden at the bottom of my house. It was funny. (Age 9 and ¾ years old)

Anonymous' Spoon

I bang on my pot for a few reasons – of course, most importantly, to show my support to the healthcare workers, first responders & essential services workers. They are the real heroes. Secondly, it is a really good way to take out the frustration of the day. COVID-19 has presented unprecedented challenges for so many people. We all know what they are. I am one of the lucky ones as this illness has not physically touched my family, friends or loved ones – thank God, but it still affects me greatly. How can it not? I am a Mom who works full time and have joined the millions of other Mothers / Fathers homeschooling their children while trying to do the best job I can at work. I work for a company who has been phenomenal throughout this whole transition and I am grateful that my husband and I both still have jobs; that we are all still healthy, etc. but, I don’t feel normal. I’m sad all the time, I’m yelling at my children all the time out of frustration, I’m cooped up in my house because the weather has been too terrible to get outside for what feels like forever now. I’m scared of what our new normal is going to look like, I could go on... Banging the pot relieves a bit of the stress – as you can see from my spoon – I have a lot! I look forward to the day where I can walk into a store without my mask and gloves, where I can give my Mom and Dad a hug and we can say farewell to this very scary and strange time.

Evan's Spoon

I smashed the spoon so hard it went ‘kablooey’ in one hit! I bang our pots and pans for the first responders, my family and Great Grandad because he gave me a cool rock and was always nice to me. (Age 9)

Ewan's Spoons

(Written by his Mom, Barb)This story is less about the spoon than it is about the banger. My son (Age 8), Ewan, missed being a part of everyday ‘regular’ life especially through the early days of the pandemic. He missed his school friends, his Taekwondo friends, soccer, gymnastics and neighbourhood hang out friends. And so, Ewan became the family pot banger to show appreciation to front line workers that we knew. Then it evolved a bit to being a way to hear our neighbours and be together in this movement every night. Thereafter, this amazing neighbourhood friend started to gather broken spoon stories and connect us even more to this 7pm ritual. It was this evening time when we took a moment to gather (distanced) collectively in our caring spirit in what was, and still is, a very strange period. Ewan looked forward to the photos and posts and worked even harder at banging on the pots to support the project of his soccer friend’s Mom. We kept watch for the spoons that were created by him and read with great interest the stories of others so beautifully photographed. While the pot banging ritual may have ceased, it brought a connection, identity, routine and fun to our long stay at home nights.

Megan's Rubbermaid Container

Here's a bit about us. I'm a single mom of a six-year-old boy. I work at BC Women's Hospital in the chronic disease program. I am a clinical counsellor there. I have a private psychology practice as well. I am volunteering with the BC Psychological Association to provide phone counselling to First Responders during covid-19. My son and I find it very important to connect with our neighbourhood at 7 p.m. every night! We look forward to going out and banging, but we always pause to hear all the noises from the neighbourhood as well. I think it is a very connecting and even reassuring experience to hear all the supportive noises, knowing that others are doing and feeling exactly the same as us at this time. My son is doing fine so far. I do find that it's uplifting for him to hear the responsiveness from so many people in our neighbourhood.

Alexis' Spoon

First, COVID-19 was shocking to me. My husband has asthma so I was scared. However, we slowly got into our new routine - moving my husband’s office to our home and my workshop to our garage. Despite some very real and frightening challenges, I now feel COVID-19 has also been a blessing. There were so many balls in the air before COVID. It’s been nice to reset the important priorities and stop some of the craziness...a forced return to the way things used to be...or perhaps should be...like the good ol’ days! I have discovered new businesses.I’ve met so many new people and I have made new friends. This just reaffirms my belief that good really does come out of bad.

Alissa's Spoon

Splitting Spoon Not broken…just split. I chose not to wait until our household’s only wooden spoon, given by my husband’s late mother, broke completely as it represents what I and many of us have experienced during this pandemic. The feeling of being “split” between many of the issues this pandemic has brought on. I have felt split between the ideology of social distancing, that has saved many lives but also strongly acknowledge and ache over the many losses this pandemic has caused - the loss of jobs and businesses, the loss of security, the loss of well needed human interactions. As a family, we had to choose who would remain in our social bubble during these last 3 months. This was a difficult decision. I miss my parents and look forward to hugging them soon. I miss hugging. As a health care provider working in the area of Pediatrics, I have felt grateful that children are not targeted by this infection compared to the H1N1 epidemic when I spent several weeks assessing, testing and treating hundreds of sick children. However, I feel a sense of guilt because my job during this time, has been quieter and more manageable for once. With this, I have been able to spend more time with my family, while many of my fellow adult health care providers are working more than ever and sacrificing their time with their families. When I bang with this wooden spoon, it is to acknowledge the work of health care providers, first responders and other essential service workers for all their dedicated work. I also bang this spoon to support all those who have felt split, fragile and on the verge of breaking during this time. I hope that out of all of this chaos humanity isn’t broken completely – deep down I know we’re not. I know that our desire for that long embrace, the closeness between friends and family and the desire for touch will help build back what has been split open.

Anonymous No.2's Spoons

I wish I could tell you that this spoon had major symbolic influence for me and my family…something deeply personal that connected my past with the present. I thought of telling you that this spoon was made from a branch off a tree from my mother’s village in the old country. That she and my father carried few possessions with them to their adopted homeland but this spoon was one of them. That for a generation, it would stir the rich curries my mom loved to make for her family to the point where the aromas were baked into the wood. That’s all BS! My mom did give it to me but I’m guessing it was bought from Zellers or Sears in the 80’s. I’m sure it was used mostly for stirring Mac n’ Cheese. A sentimental favourite no doubt but not the epic tale I wish I could tell. (Me and my family are trying hard to keep our sense of humour intact during these difficult times!) On a serious note, our kids love banging the pots in solidarity with our frontline workers and we’re so impressed at how this has brought our community together.

Dr. Spoons

(with credit to the Great Dr. Seuss)Oh, the noises you’ll make! Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to bangs pots In a great noise-making way! You no longer need to stir sauces and stews You will be asked to bang the pots that we choose You can bang big ones and small ones and frying pans too Maybe Tupperware or empty bottles, you’ll know what to do. Oh, the racket you’ll make! There is a pandemic to beat There are first responders to thank. There are front-line workers to greet. All the loud-banging sounds you’ll make with this spoon, In the hopes that this pandemic will be over quite soon.

Ewan's Spoon

We are banging our pots and pans for our friends whose parents’ work in health care and at the grocery stores.' (Age 8)

Jill and Matt's Spoons

Jill officially moved her wooden spatula in with Matt’s spoon in late February of this year. I think, like most people, we had no idea what was in store in the coming weeks! We learned of the 7pm cheer, and thought it was a nice way to support frontline workers including our friend who is a VGH Emergency Department nurse. The first evening we cheered was fairly quiet, but the muffled clanging from distant blocks spurred us on. The next evening, our little cheering section grew as a couple across the alleyway joined in. Over the course of the week, our cheering pod grew to include all of our neighbours across the alley. This nightly ritual gave our days structure and sociability. We built relationships with our neighbours that we otherwise may have overlooked during busier days. Our little crew consisted of three generations of folks. The eldest acted as timekeeper, keeping us punctual to the minute. Our youngest often showed up late into the cheer as she was napping or feeding. (She was born during the first week of the lockdown.) We cheered in funny hats to give our neighbours a laugh and inspire some healthy competition to present the next weird and wonderful headwear. We cheered for our neighbour as she navigated the learning curve of online teaching, and, weeks later, the stress of returning to the classroom. We cheered when our bubbles grew a bit, and our newborn neighbour got to meet her grandparents for the first time. We started out cheering for our frontline workers and ended up cheering for each other as well.

Kaaren's Spoon

I bang my pots with our spoons to honour the health care workers. I’m now dealing with my second bout of breast cancer and have had a total of 3 hospitalizations in the past 9 months. The care I received each time was spectacular and has allowed me to improve to where I can enjoy this time with my family and friends. I still go to the Cancer Agency regularly, where I am treated by amazing doctors and nurses alike, who also worry about their families and their own wellbeing. Please stay home, flatten the curve, and let the health care workers try to return to their normal as soon as possible. Just like this spoon, I broke, but not all the way. I can still bang pots.

Karen's Spoon

I live in the country. If I banged my spoon my neighbour would be the only one who would hear me - but she is slightly deaf. So instead I say my prayers. I pray that my husband and I and our two daughters will stay well (mentally and physically) and I pray that their husbands and our grandkids will stay well too. I pray that the elders and young people around the world escape the ravages of this virus and live to tell about it. I pray that the damage done to our economy can be repaired and I pray that the damage done to those who have lost their jobs but still need to feed their families will be repaired so their families can eat. I wonder how things will ever be right again. When will we be allowed to throw our arms around those we love – sending the message that all will be just fine – eventually. It’s quite distressing – isn’t it! So, with these thoughts rolling around in my head – I picked up my favourite spoon – the white Machi Melamine MC-716 made in Taiwan. This spoon is about 20+ years old. I picked it up to stir a ragu and it flew right out of my hand and smashed on the floor. That spoon broke totally apart. I am an intuitive person - it sounds quite weird but in my mind the spoon is telling its own story. When I pieced it back together every piece fit together perfectly intact – three clean breaks - made me wonder! Things that get broke can get fixed – and sometime the glue that holds it together makes it stronger than the original! Let us hope that we can pick up the pieces of Covid-19 and create a new beginning that will bring things together to form a better life.

Kim's Spoon

At 7pm I hear a community Stuck. Restless Waiting for a vaccine I see across the street My first time really seeing them I wonder Who are they? How are they doing? And who could they potentially lose in their life? I bang on I cheer on Knowing that as we all get our footing In this new evolving world We'll cheer on to support our communities We'll cheer on emphasizing our local professionals Who deserve hazard pay Our healthcare providers Social workers Grocery workers Garbage recycling compost workers Childcare workers I cheer on to outline that we need them And to recognize they deserve more I cheer on

Kristine's Spoon

During the shutdown I could hear people banging pots and pans in the distance at 7pm every night from my home, but not within my little cul-de-sac of condos. I made it a mission of mine to try to get my neighbours to join in - part social experiment, part fun for myself and my daughter, part boredom relief, but mostly to say thanks to the front-line workers. It felt silly being the only noisy banger in the area for the first while, but slowly one after the other (and always with my prompt) people in the neighbourhood started to join in with musical instruments, cow bells, even one with a garbage can! My daughter and I tried various things to bang on, and after a few different options I just started to bang my wooden spoon on the balcony railing, and it just broke in half - I was shocked! And even a little sad and sentimental - I've had the spoon since I moved out of my parents' home over 20yrs ago. It represents part of my own story of learning to cook, element burns, red jello stains, and I guess now bringing the community together in saying thanks to the front line working for their efforts in keeping us safe.

Lizzy's Spoon

The 7pm banging ritual has become an incredibly inspiring act for all who participate. As someone who works in healthcare I have to say it can at times be an emotional minute of time. It is a time to celebrate health care workers who are working in acute and community settings - the nurses, doctors, allied health, support staff and leadership who give everything they have each day. We recognize the trust that British Columbians have placed in us to do our best everyday. We also recognize the sacrifices that all of our community members are making to make sure all are safe and supported. Our spoons have started to splinter but I feel our community has become stronger. We have completed the first phase of our marathon together. The continued 7pm banging ritual reminds us that our journey continues - together we will get through this. Be calm, be kind, be safe.

Luc's Spoon

Written by Luc’s Mom, Heather.My kids love to get out there and bang and cheer with the community. We do it for my cousin Sarah who is a frontline nurse, my cousin Micheal who is an engineer leading the team that keeps a Chicago hospital ventilation system running (really important during COVID), for my friends and colleagues (dietitians, physios, occupational therapists, psychologists, nurses and doctors) who care for patients every day - since before COVID, for patients with or without COVID, and continuing long after COVID. And sometimes just because it's a scary pandemic and everyone needs a little joy! That's our story...

Ben, Heather and Amélie's Spoons

Written by Heather.Amélie broke this spoon in one of our 7pm sessions. We had extra kids from our bubble on our back deck banging spoons that night and each of them broke a spoon in the first minute of the healthcare worker cheer. Bang - break a spoon, bang - break another, and bang - last one gone! The kids were excited but I saw it through a different lens. I saw each broken spoon reflect something that COVID-19 changed - connections to family, friends and community; work, school, community businesses. You name it, it's changed somehow. When one of these spoons broke, we decided to sand it down and keep it. It's not just that it was a favourite spoon, we sanded it because it was something we could salvage. The spoon is a reminder of life before COVID-19, and a descriptor of life right now: a bit broken but fixed up as best we could to live life with us in this new normal.

Mindan's Spoon

Every night at 7pm, a number of neighbours on our street come out to make noise to thank the health care workers. We bang pots and pans and we play children’s musical instruments. We also have a Facebook watch group set up. This means that all of us can turn our speakers out towards the street and the same song plays from all of our stereo systems at the same time. After making a bunch of noise for a few minutes, we leave the music on and then a bunch of us visit from a distance and have a little catch up on how the day has been. Sometimes it’s lots of neighbours, sometimes it’s only a few but it gives us a chance to see how everyone’s day has been or if anyone has any needs that we can help out with.

Najade's Spoons

These spoons have been with me and my husband for years and have travelled from England, where we met, to Gibraltar, where I’m from, and finally here to Vancouver. I have banged them as hard and as loud as I could in solidarity with all those amazing essential workers who day in and day out put their lives at risk for all of us. I bang the spoons on a very old cow bell that hangs at the front of our 1910 home.

Noni's Spoons

One of the spoons is from Ikea and the other one was my Mum’s. There isn’t really an amazing story I can share…just the fond memories of her using the spoon while cooking for our family and now me using it for mine. “7pm” was a great time for our family, especially on Sundays. Every Sunday, at 7:01pm, Wayne (@wkaulbachphotography) would sing and play the guitar on his roof for all the neighbours. We looked forward to it every week…having a small chance to chat with our friends and neighbours in the community (while social distancing of course!). Wayne would sing his heart out, a few of us would dance in the street and we all shared a wonderful moment, separately but together. We banged our spoons in support of our community, our first responders and because it was nice to have a little fun in this crazy pandemic with two young children at home.

Pascal's Spoon

(owner of Marché St. George) www.marchestgeorge.comI bang my pots and pans at 7pm as motivation to keep my little grocery store and café open while supporting our community.At first we thought we would have to close down completely. I had to lay off all my staff except for my manager, Anais. She was staying on so she would not lose her Visa to work here in Canada.The beginning of the pandemic was scary. We had to become more creative since we were only operating at about 30%. We set up a service window and our table at the front door. Artisanal groceries (coffee beans, pasta, sauces, milk, eggs, peanut butter & maple syrup) were in our window on display, along with our take-out croissants and coffees. Our customers lined up 2 meters apart outside our cafe buying all our pastries by 1pm.The generous support in our community is what has kept us open and being back in the café again serving coffee and pastries has been fun and inspiring. I suddenly had to fly back to Montreal. My Dad was very sick and had been for a while, He contracted COVID-19.He was 88 years old with chronic asthma, Parkinsons and the beginning of Alzheimers. He died on May 19th, 2020. He had many underlying health issues and was in intensive care for nearly 2 months. My Dad’s passing was hardest on my Mom. The hospital did not allow visitors until the very last days before he passed - unfortunately, I did not make it back in time to say goodbye.While our “normal” is constantly changing, I am so grateful that some things still stay the same - I can still play with my daughter Lola, the coffee at the café is still flowing and underneath the masks everyone in the community is still smiling and stronger than ever.

Sara's Spoon

7pm is now ingrained in our family, it’s automatic, it’s pots and pans time. We have been joining our amazing neighbours in this ritual for the last 11 weeks.We have taken the show on the road and lapped VGH to cheer on the front line workers. Elias, our 7 year old, is our most enthusiastic banger.Having broken more than 1 spoon, tried using pot lids as cymbals, and drumming on planters, he has now come to blowing the shofar (a Jewish horn customarily blown to welcome in the new year).Coming together as a community to show our gratitude and respect for everyone out there working tirelessly to keep us safe is literally the least we could do.

Susan's Spoon

Through the power of social media, Susan and I met through @canadiancovidportraitThe passion and emotion surrounding the health care workers inspired me to start banging pots at 7pm EVERY NIGHT!!I loved how it became something we really looked forward to every night even our dog 🐶!! We enjoyed the community spirit it created in our back lane with all the neighbours waving and cheering !!Springtime will always remind me of COVID. When we started banging pots we could easily see everyone and then everything started blooming and the trees filled out and by the time we stopped this tradition you could barely see anyone at all!! So it was fitting to wind down the pot banging!!

All Spoons

This collection started quite unexpectedly. In our own household, it started with one broken spoon…then another…then I started wondering – is this happening to others? It became so much more than just broken spoons.Every broken spoon revealed a unique story from each person who was banging their pots and pans every night at 7pm for the first responders. Everyone had a story.The pandemic has been scary - some people have lost their livelihoods; there is more anxiety today than ever before and many have become sick and some tragically have died.And while the world is opening up again, I also notice some of the imposed and welcome deceleration is disappearing and some of the rushing is creeping in. In part because of the stories that have been shared with me, I am now more aware of life’s pace.I still notice the sounds of the birds more, the bees thriving in our neighbourhood and my kids a little more free range than before the pandemic. My puppy is now seven months old. He no longer looks like a puppy.So much has happened in these last few months and so much more will change in our lives as a result of COVID-19 but I’ve come to appreciate that just like these broken spoons, all of life’s pieces matter.