I admit, it feels a little weird posting lovely family Christmas moments when I know so many folks are still not able to gather with loved ones for the holidays and special occasions. It’s gotten better for many of us, but certainly not all.
There are so many countries still in desperate need of vaccines, there are many families with children under five who can’t get vaccinated yet, there are the immunocompromised and chronically ill and elderly who, even with vaccines and boosters, are still at serious risk.
And then there are all of us who had expected to be protected at this point, but are finding Omicron breaking through the vaccines — generally in fairly mild cases, but not always. There are those (including our family with Kavi) whose under-16 vaccines are wearing off and don’t have boosters available yet.
And so we’re still making these difficult decisions, and people are getting positive tests just before the holidays and cancelling travel plans, often at significant expense, and I don’t know. I thought about not posting our holiday photos at all, but since I started blogging in December 1995, I’ve tried to be as honest and accurate as I can about my life.
We decided to risk travel — going from one highly-vaccinated place to another, then back again. So far, no symptoms here; we’ll do tests before we start really interacting with people again, and definitely before I get on another plane to go to Santa Fe for a writing retreat in early January. These seem like reasonable risks and precautions to us, but I know others would be more cautious (and others less so).
Kevin’s sister had a serious health crisis this year — she’s doing great right now, but it felt really important to spend time with his family this holiday if at all possible. And his parents aren’t young, of course, and have their own ongoing health issues. Right now, Kev and I are just doing our best to balance mental health, the strong need to spend in-person time with friends and family, and responsible community behavior. It’s tough, folks.
I guess I just want to say thank you to everyone who is doing their best to be responsible and balance everything appropriately, and I hope these photos don’t make anything more painful for you.
(Last of the stocking opening, Ann’s traditional Christmas breakfast — she always makes this egg-and-sausage-and-bread thing, a strata, I think? It’s very tasty and very rich — she makes one with jalapeños and one without, served with plenty of fresh fruit and juice to cut the richness.)
