For the Griswolds among us, the Covid-clipped version of Christmas 2020 was something of a squirrel to the throat. And just when we thought we were doing all we could for a normal Christmas experience in ’21, cousin Omicron showed up in a filthy RV.
The Ghost of Christmas Past
In my circles, the weekend before Christmas has traditionally been a gathering of a couple dozen celebrants from my wife’s side of the family. On Boxing Day, about the same number of merrymakers would get together on my side. The tradition involves stuffing ourselves into the hosting household and filling our bellies with the culinary excesses of the season. A much anticipated opportunity for four generations of family to collect under one roof and catch up after a long year, largely limited to our respective life lanes.
As is surely the case for many families, the abrupt turn in the pandemic recovery has cancelled — or substantially curtailed — plans for Christmas gatherings in 2021. It has also messed with the travel plans for many snowbirds and seasonal vacationers hoping for a winter getaway.
But the latest wave of this scourge delivers more profound impacts than losses of sentimental and indulgent family Christmas gatherings.
I worry about the strained healthcare system and a new assault on a weary group of health heroes. I worry about a generation of young children and the longer term effects of social contortions not seen in our lifetimes. I worry about students continuing to jerry-rig their educations from behind masks and laptop screens. I worry about the mental health impacts of unique and protracted levels of anxiety. I worry for the wage earners and small businesses battered in the first two years — now facing another round of restriction and financial hardship. I worry for the vulnerable and the many families that will ultimately face severe illness and loss.
The greatest risks to our individual and collective well-being — as we spiral toward a third year of restriction and inconvenience — will be complacency and surrender. We’re fed up with this pandemic: We’ve kept our distance; we’ve worn the masks; we’ve gotten the vaccinations. For the love of God, we’ve had enough. The shitter’s full!
Keep up the good fight
It’s this developing condition of caution fatigue and abandonment of safeguards that threatens to set back the curve of recovery, overwhelm our healthcare system and unnecessarily extend the duration of health, economic and social suffering.
For 35 years, I made a living assessing and managing risk in an insurance underwriting career. A key to success in that business was understanding the risk before us and mitigating the likelihood and severity of losses through risk management measures. A restaurant would need to have a fire extinguishing system, a jewelry store needed a burglar alarm, a trucking fleet required vehicle maintenance and driver training programs. Insuring businesses that fell short on practical loss controls was inviting trouble, for both the customer and the insurer.
While I suspect I am just as tired of our extended period of life-altering vigilance, as anyone else, I am mindful of the risk we continue to face and the consequences of relaxing measures that provide the best chance of keeping family, friends and strangers safe.
Though disappointing, the London Coyles are again forfeiting large Christmas gatherings this year. We’ll continue to get vaccinations as they are made available, we’ll wear masks and keep our distance, and we’ll snowshoe at home this year while hoping for a return to our snowbird winter escape in 2023.
This new wave of pandemic misery will test us all, but when you think of it, Clark Griswold went through tough times and hard lessons before things finally lit up for him and he got his hands on that treasured bonus of the Christmas season.
Keep up the good fight, there are better days ahead.
Wishing you peace and happiness at Christmas and a safe and healthy 2022!
I’m Derrick Coyle; proud husband, father and grandad, happily retired in London, Ontario after a long and satisfying career in the world of insurance. SilverFoxWise is a personal blog created to indulge a longtime passion and scratch a creative itch; an introspective boomer’s cathartic canvas of musings and perspectives. Thanks for coming along for the read.