I just got off the phone with Pappy Wentworth. Aka “Big Dave.”
I had been chatting with my sister Johanna about the likelihood of my not traveling home for Christmas this year. But talking to Dad about it, and hearing him agree that this was not a good year to do it, put a finality to the decision. So I will not be flying home to South Otselic, NY for the holidays this year.
So let’s try to find some positives here.
Well, I hate the “flying” part of “flying home”. I have had every non-fatal non-crash bad thing happen to me in my 22 years of annual cross-country journeys except spontaneous combustion. And who knows, this could have been the year for that! So this year, no airport drama, no delays, no bi-airline arguments, no misdirected gate bus drivers, no all-night layovers at Laguardia.
Also positive: No work pressure. I will not take the vast majority of the Christmas vacation days I have scheduled, so I will have more time to get all of the things done that have to get done. And no coming back to a heaving s***show of stuff.
Okay, so two positives.
The negatives:
-No turkey and dressing and mashed potatoes and waldorf salad. My sister creates the holiday feast from Mom’s recipes and it is SENSATIONAL.
-No Seamus time. Seamus is my youngest nephew and we always have a grand old time. Last Christmas we played “The Game Of Life” and “13 Deadend Drive”, two games I got my sister for Christmas many years ago.
-No Wentworth Family Christmas. Although even if I flew home this one isn’t happening this year, because our family is, by and large, sane. 30 or 40 people in a very small room = not happening.
-No Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. Last year I brought Seamus to church with me, and I was looking forward to that again.
-No Dad chat. I always love spending time with Dad…watching “Family Feud”, talking about Nebraska, sharing old memories.
Okay…wait. Did I say two positives? Third positive:
I will not make my Dad or anyone else I love sick.
Do I think I’m going to get COVID-19 before December 23? One hopes not. But we have had three (four if you count it a certain way) people in my workplace get it. So at this point I am not filled with confidence. But even if I somehow manage to avoid the ‘rona, there’s three packed airports and three packed planes to consider. It just isn’t smart.
Having said that, I want to be clear that my life is filled with incidences of me doing the not-smart thing. Like…daily. I could easily just say “the hell with it” and go home. The turkey dinner alone could lead me down that primrose path. But in this case, the smart thing is the only option.
Once the vaccine is available, and I know it’s safe, I will go home. And I will have Dad time, and Seamus time, and Jo and Jer and Tam and Kay and Nick time. (I will not expect a turkey dinner.)
For the record, this will be the only Christmas I have missed being home with the family. 47 for 48. I am aware how lucky I have been. I am hoping this year will be an anomaly. I am doing my tiny microfraction of sacrifice to ensure it.