First our once-in-a-lifetime mid-March trip to Israel with my sisters, their spouses and my rabbi cousin was called off. Then I had to rip up my tickets to the Orioles-Nats game, the first time ever, I think, that my team was going to visit Ed Smith Stadium (and, yes, I had already strategized about the best way to snap selfies with the guys).

But when Plan C—visiting the grandkids in Washington, D.C., during cherry blossom season—fell through for obvious reasons (even the Tidal Basin is off-limits to sightseers), I decided to get creative. On FaceTime and through photos our son and daughter-in-law share, we are watching them tear down the sidewalk on their scooters and make terrariums in their back yard, listening to them play “The Hobbit” with each other (they’re listening to an audio version of the book), and playing the diabolical board game Ticket to Ride. (I say diabolical because, even though the box says it’s for ages 8 and up, I have won exactly twice.)

Grandparents out there, how are you connecting with your little ones at a social distance?