Christmas is our respite from the year of COVID.
Even if we can't (or at least shouldn't) visit our loved ones, even if we can't travel, even if we have lived with this threat for months which has changed our lives, we have Christmas.
Some will have a subdued Christmas because they have lost family or friends, or because a friend or family member has ended up in the hospital because of COVID. I have one colleague with lingering symptoms and another in the hospital. Others I know have seen loved ones die.
Some will have a smaller Christmas because of restrictions on gathering size, the riskiness of travel, and the fact that hotels and restaurants are among the best places for contagion. This has been a big part of why my husband and I aren't going to Illinois and staying at Starved Rock State Park for this Christmas.
But there will be Christmas, and there will be workarounds for friends and family. We will put up our Christmas trees, even early, because we need that color and light. We will Zoom with family and friends. We will find a way to celebrate, because we as human beings need that celebration in the grey skies of December.
Find a reason for joy this season, even a flickering moment of joy, because that is part of our legacy as humans. And if you can't, let something lighten your heart for a moment and understand that the hurt will lessen and the memories remain.
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