Like a lot of people, my favorite times of the year are the holidays around November and December. My family has tons of traditions during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s that we have been celebrating for as long as I can remember. However, this year is definitely going to be different with many public health officials urging families to keep gatherings small as COVID-19 cases spike across the country.
My family has definitely been on the cautious side this year – we limit our interactions with people outside of our household, haven’t eaten in restaurants, and have avoided traveling. We normally spend lots of time with our grandparents over the summer, but this year we kept it outside and distanced with masks. Many of us hoped that the pandemic would have gotten less severe as the holidays quickly approached, but since the U.S. recently reached a record number of daily cases, that clearly has not been the case.
This is the first Thanksgiving that we won’t be spending eating at my grandparents’ house, and that was pretty difficult to accept. Over the last few months, I’ve seen people partying, eating at restaurants in large groups, traveling without quarantining, and disregarding social distancing. It, therefore, seems overly cautious to avoid a dinner when there would only be seven of us, consisting of my immediate family, my aunt, and my grandparents, but we just don’t feel comfortable taking the risk of getting any of our loved ones sick. A lot of people have come to the same conclusion, and more experts agree that a virtual Thanksgiving is best this year.
In a recent 60 Minutes interview, Mike Pence stated that he would be spending Thanksgiving with his entire family and that the American people could make their own choice as to how to spend the holidays. However, that is ignorant due to the fact that many essential workers, including teachers, retail workers, health care workers, and countless others are not able to quarantine for two weeks and receive multiple tests to ensure that they are not infectious. It’s already difficult enough to not be able to spend time with loved ones, but hearing about the countless people who will spend Thanksgiving traveling or in large groups is even more frustrating.
So, this year, my family is going to eat separately, swap leftovers, and hopefully have a socially distanced fire outside if the weather remains clear. Our households will be cooking and eating separately, but we will still be able to celebrate and be thankful even from a distance. I know that this year, I will be especially grateful that my family and friends have remained safe and healthy.
Unfortunately, as evidence of a second wave begins to increase, it’s even harder to look forward to what Christmas will look like this year for my family, and what the holidays will look like for families across the world. The thought of not opening presents or celebrating together is pretty unbearable. But as frustrating as it may be, I know that the most important thing is keeping my family safe and not contributing to a pandemic that has caused so many to lose loved ones this year.