Traveling During a Pandemic...What is the End Game???
It's been 20 months. We are still washing our hands, somewhat social distancing, and sometimes wearing masks. We think twice before we accept a social invite. Not much has changed over 20 months in that respect at all. Is there even an end game to all of this? This blog will likely be somewhat more controversial than my other blogs, and I do welcome all comments. Please be kind-I want your honest thoughts...but I have faith that you can figure out how to deliver your thoughts and still be nice about it.
People who have died from COVID is sad.* People who are not living because of COVID is a tragedy. Perhaps an even bigger tragedy for our world.😢
There-I said it. And I do believe it. NOT living, is a worse tragedy in the long run than the virus itself.
The mental health issues, drug/alcohol issues, violence in schools, violence in communities, and just general meanness I see as a direct result of this unexpected, and unacceptable bubble we currently are living in. Can we really expect people to be alone...connect on Zoom...stay away from others...and still figure out how to interact with others appropriately? Fear is keeping people away from others, stuck in their homes, scared to be near others. It is ruining life. It is NOT the way human beings are meant to live.
Today while out on an early morning walk I saw 2 different couples having coffee out on their decks. One group had a fire pit, the other didn't. It was about 58 degrees, and it put a smile on my face that they both thought it was great to leave their homes. It made them happy...and it made me happy. Both couples waved as I went by. I have no clue who they are, but I realized that they were making their own safe travel plans-even if it was only to the deck of their home. We interacted, and for that brief moment we were all happy. I purposefully look for those moments.
My Dad lived to be 93 years old. He was blessed with incredible health his entire life. In his 90's he was diagnosed with Parkinson's and lived the last couple years of his life in a nursing home. He had Parkinson's dementia. He knew who we all were, but was confused about where he was. Every single time I visited, he told me about the "trip" he had been on that day (he never really was able to leave the nursing home for any outings) because he knew how much I loved traveling, and how important it was to me. Having been an avid traveler his entire life (all 50 states, all National Parks), he had memories. He had no clue he was living in a nursing home-he was "on vacation". Sometimes the "trips" he told me about were actually to nearby corn research fields. He worked for Cornell University in Corn Research-and that just added to his travel memories...walking those corn fields. He was happy! He had joy telling me about his trips, his travels, people he met along the way. He actually never went anywhere, but because of his vivid memories he was able to create his own positivity, and his own reality.
Travel brings joy. It is therapy. It does not have to cost a lot of money. In the case of walking down a new street, or visiting a local park it literally costs nothing. A sunset? A sunrise? Million dollar trips right there!!!
This year we traveled on 6 trips. We were gone a total of 20 days and spent 14 nights in hotels (or in one case, a camp on a lake). I continue to be happy that we have traveled. We have gone out to new restaurants. We have seen numerous theater and concert performances. All of those are a form of travel for me. I feel very blessed that we have safely been able to navigate leaving our home for travel, seeing others, making memories and remaining as positive as we can. Staying home is not a good option for mental health.
We did have to cancel our trip to Charleston and Savannah. My hubby's back problems at the very last minute (day before we were scheduled to leave) were so much worse that he could not navigate the airport. As you read in the blog about Boston-I did get him around Boston. Given more notice, I could have also adjusted the trip to Savannah to make it doable for him. For both of us-travel is important and we will work hard to make it possible. We realize that there will come a day when we can not travel at all (bed ridden). At that point- we can only hope that, like my Dad, our memories can keep us going.
Unless you are unable-leave your house every single day on an adventure. If you are more able-go on a trip out of your community, out of your state, out of your country. You will meet new people. Experience different cultures. Eat in new restaurants. Talk to new people. Get out of your own head. Appreciate the good in this world.
But, what if what you really want to do is not possible, or you perceive it as too much of a risk?
We really want to travel out of the country. We have cancelled so many trips because I am not willing to test to return to the United States. I am vaccinated-but also realize that things can happen and I will not quarantine in another country. I do continue to book trips (we have one to Australia and one to Punta Cana already booked). Planning trips...(even planning for those daily walks) gives me joy. Yes, it's frustrating that we have had to cancel-but I also realize that I have so many other places to travel to that it is not a huge deal to wait a bit until that rule goes away. It may not go away in time for those 2 trips (end game????), but I will wait. We currently have options. And we will make it to these places someday. (***Edit to add...Australia was again canceled by our tour operator Vacations by Disney, but we DID get to Punta Cana-even though we did have to test to return to the US)
This pandemic will likely not ever totally end. Restrictions might remain for years. How are you willing to proceed with life? Are you making those baby steps that will give you the positivity that you need for your own mental health? Are you locking down with fear, or proceeding safely with caution?
Relying on someone else for your personal happiness (another person, your government, your job) will end up as a losing strategy. The only way you can truly have joy is to figure out what you are passionate about ..and safely go for it. Since this is a travel blog, I can assume that most of you enjoy travel. Hopefully, I have given you some different kind of travel ideas that might work for you. Keep it simple. If individually we all could see some semblance of joy it might help our world. There's always going to be "those days". But, less is better in that respect. Life right now is hard for everyone. For some it totally sucks. Try to start with 1 day of "travel"...then go to 2, etc. Eventually you will realize that your mind is ignoring all of the negative news reports, negative people, and naysayers...and proceeding with positivity.
One day at a time. Your own personal End Game. Don't wait for the rest of the world to catch up to your personal happiness. Go for it now!! Put life in those years that you are fortunate to have been given.
*In no way, shape or form am I trivializing the almost 5 million souls that we have lost to COVID... over 700,000 in the United States alone. It is very sad, and we grieve for each and every one of them.
What might be on the other side of this road?????
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