Covid Christmas
Where is the festive mood?
Only a few more days till Christmas eve…and I am panicking. When it was my parents organising it — it was fun. All I had to do was get some presents — and I had the time to start early. And living in London I had all those shops to go to long before the mad rush would start. Now I live in a tiny village in France with not one shop and must travel far and wide to get anything. Thank god for the internet!
But now?
Now only my 95-year-old mother is alive, and she can’t organise anything any more. My brother who was the life of the “party” is no more and my dad is gone too. My surviving sister — well she has big mental problems and if she makes it to me in the evening it will be an accomplishment.
So why bother? Well, there is my niece, her mother, and friends and of course my mother still wants to celebrate Christmas. It’s important for her as she is well aware it may be her last…so only a few more days to go and I am panicking.
Still haven’t got the all the presents — why? Cause my heart is not in the Christmas festive mood.
Still haven’t got all the food for the evening — why? Cause my heart is not in it.
Still haven’t got the tree prepared and the decorations out — why? Cause my heart is not in the festive mood.
Rather than fun everything seems a chore — why? Maybe because of the constant presence of a tiny organism that is called Covid.
Is it right to have about 10 people for supper? Are they all vaccinated with the right vaccine? Will there be enough air circulation? When I go shopping do I have the right mask? Can I invite so and so?
It has now been two years since this pandemic started — two long years when our lives have been put on some form of a hold. Last Christmas, I divided Christmas eve into three evenings, so as not to mix people. But this Christmas I hoped to get a bit more normality into the festivities — and then came Omicron. I am a medical scientist — I know what it all means, how it all works (well I know enough), but I am getting so tired of it all — and so must most people. Therefore, I think that I am panicking because I am not ready for any festivities, I do not feel in a festive mood because of the constant presence of a virus that hasn’t been invited. Nevertheless, we will celebrate Christmas, even if it’s just for my mother’s sake.
I wish everyone a Merry and above all a Healthy Christmas or any other festival you may celebrate at this time of the year.