So, Governor Inslee announced a further round of tightened lockdown rules for Washington state, and anyone who is surprised by this hasn’t been paying attention to what has been happening with Covid-19. Infections, and deaths, have been on the rise for weeks and show no signs of diminishing any time soon.
What this means is that the holiday season is going to be truncated for many of us. I’m totally OK with that to tell the truth, I just wish that they would develop a viable vaccine and get it out into the wild…soon. One of my co-workers is finally back to work today after having contracted it, and spent the last two weeks in quarantine at home. We work at a major hospital in Spokane. I’m so sick of the whole thing.
The reality is that Thanksgiving is going to be a very different experience for a lot of people (at least those who take the threat seriously). Large family gatherings are out. No eating a meal at a restaurant instead of having to cook it yourself. No sitting around, pleasantly bloated watching football with extended family. No Black Friday sales.
Instead, only immediate family will be together on this national holiday. In my case this means the wife, child, and our dog. Granted, I don’t find this to be particularly painful, being that I am a known anti-social A-hole, but that is not the case for my wife. Large family gatherings seem to spring up every time the wind blows when it comes to my in-laws. This was the single hardest thing for me to cope with when I married into that clan.
Any type of gathering on my side of the family was restricted to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and occasionally the 4th of July. And generally, not everyone would make those, either. No big deal, if there was something I needed to know about regarding my siblings my parents made sure I was informed. Since my father is no longer with us most of those events have gone by the wayside, and that’s fine by me.
Trying to accomodate two Thanksgivings, or two Christmases was always a pain in the ass, and always left me feeling grouchy (well, grouchier anyway). For me, these times were meant to be spent with the wife and kid (or alone when I was in the Army), not a bazillion other people all putting up a false front of bonhomie. Someone was always pissed at someone else, or flat-out not a fan of one or more of those gathered for the occasion. Why bother, or even pretend? I’ve never understood that…trust me, if I don’t like you it is readily apparent.
Last year we flew to Phoenix for Thanksgiving, stayed at a 5-star hotel, and partook of the huge holiday feast that their staff prepared. That’s my kind of holiday. And the nice weather didn’t hurt either. No such luck this year. That is the worst part of this whole situation as far as I am concerned…this virus is restricting my ability to just pack up and go somewhere. We like to travel, and generally take a few long weekend trips, and one big trip each year. An international trip is planned for every two to three years.
In fact, we had planned on being in Sicily for three weeks last summer, but well, that didn’t happen for obvious reasons. Nor am I convinced it will be possible in 2021 either. I’m not sure how many more opportunities I will have for such travels in the future (I’m 58) and I begrudge every lost chance. To be honest, if it was just me I would still travel, but it’s not.
Anyway, I would wish everyone the best for the holidays, but…meh. Hopefully we will be able to get past all this horseshit in the relatively near future. I’m crossing my fingers.
