Last year we had 15 people for Thanksgiving dinner. We set up a long table in the living room and sat down with some of our local family, our niece from San Francisco, a university pal of my daughters from Nova Scotia, and best friends from Seattle.
The ease of that day is surreal to me now. Who could have imagined that one year later the U.S. border would be closed and we could no longer congregate in large groups. I yearn for carefree pre COVID-19 days.
As we look ahead to three of the most celebrated holidays of the year, it’s with trepidation and a lot of confusion. How do we say to granny, or to aunties and uncles who’ve been isolated for months, no, you can’t be included in our holiday celebrations?
Dr. Bonnie Henry, my guru for all of my lifestyle choices, says we can have Thanksgiving and Halloween, “But it just won’t look the same as past years.”
That is extremely vague and may be open for interpretation, because how do we judge who to include and exclude? Seniors may be at more risk for COVID-19, but they rely heavily on family interactions for their mental health. My daughter is a pediatric community nurse and supervises testing sites. My son works in a school. Surely they should not be included in any family gathering right?
As a result I am considering two small Thanksgiving dinners, much to my husbands’ dismay, it’s double the work. Meanwhile, friends are designing unique ways to hand out treats on Halloween, and Christmas parties are being revamped.
COVID-19 came close to home three weeks ago. Relatives from overseas, here on a work visa, contracted COVID-19. They are both in their early 20’s and have thankfully recovered, but it has been a very stressful time for us all. They experienced all the classic symptoms, pounding headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, painful eyes, fever, and loss of taste or smell.
They work in a restaurant in the city and have no answers as to how they contracted the virus. The best guess is at work, but they were vigilant and wore transparent plastic clear face masks, which suggests these type of face coverings are not effective.
Our challenge is how to organize and retain social occasions, and to reinvent them so we don’t lose precious traditions and family time. Most importantly, we must rely on each other to make sacrifices and act responsibly so we can get through the coming holidays healthy and safe.
Ingrid Abbott is a freelance broadcaster and writer who reminds herself no matter how hard the pandemic is we have so much to be thankful for.
