November 20, 2020 – The Twenty-Second Blog in the RestorationAge

It’s a speed blog y’all. It’s 3 o’clock on Friday afternoon and it’s been a busy week, so I’m just now sitting down to give this a go.

So, yes, it’s been busy, but it has also been a gut punch week because of the need to make a decision on whether we should go to my mother’s house for Thanksgiving. We just had a family luncheon for my sister’s 50th birthday, not three weeks ago, but then somebody cracked the lid of Pandora’s box a little more and the Rona poured out and cases started multiplying like wet gremlins. (Proud of myself for that one.)

But seriously, we ran straight into this one. Like we knew it was going to happen and when it did, we’re like, is it really happening? Let me be the first to tell you…yes, it’s really happening. But it’s not like last time. Last time we were all totally clueless of what it all meant. We didn’t know anyone that had gotten sick yet. We were all still in love with Governor Beshear’s 5 o’clock Corona happy hour. We thought it might just go away as spring was getting ready to turn into summer. We weren’t wearing masks everywhere yet. We were excited to be home and spending some much needed time with our families. Man, how things change…

Well, I’m kidding (mostly), but a Coronavirus spike, rising infection rates and deaths, closures, and partial if not full lockdown are heavier this time. Yes, there is a vaccine in site, so close we can taste it, but that doesn’t mean I can in good conscience go to my mother’s house next Thursday and spend the day sharing her space and possibly making her so ill that we’ll be eating turkey without her next year. The turkey just isn’t that important to me, the family connection is, and that can be achieved over FaceTime or Zoom just as easily.

We won’t be able to play cards, but we can hang out virtually and make fun of some of the things that mom says – i.e. – Cathy: Michael B. Jordan was named Sexiest Man Alive for 2020. It just doesn’t feel like a good year to be making those type of selections. Mom: But he is a great basketball player. And he makes some really great shoes. (I’m paraphrasing a little here, but the gist is there.) Isn’t she cute? Don’t worry, she won’t see this. She hasn’t read my blog since I used “the F word” several months back.

The hardest part was finally making the decision to stay home and then communicating that. The pandemic has been hard on her. It’s been hard on a lot, if not most, in our older generations. The rest of us still have a lot of our activities, NTI and kids to teach, work and jobs to do, but our elders have been put in a bubble. They live to see their families and friends and haven’t been able to without taking major risks. We all have been taking some risks, but the risks are even higher for them.

My mom understood when I told her. That doesn’t mean that she wasn’t sad about it, but she knows I made this decision out of the love I have for her. That makes it okay, but not easier. I cannot wait for the day that these discussions and decisions don’t have to be made anymore. Again, there is light at the end of the tunnel, but like any successful task, job, or goal; it’s digging in and following through that last 10% that make all the work of the other 90% totally worth it.

It’s time to focus on what we are thankful for. And there are so, so, so many things. I think I would say that this year that I’m thankful for the ability to make the decision to do something that will unsure that mom will be here next year, so that we can play cards and give her a hard time, because those moments are absolutely priceless and what I’ll remember forever.

Happy Thanksgiving Friends. I am thankful for you as well. Stay well. Wear your mask.

LLM

3:50pm