Which brings me to Christmas, likely one of the top two holidays that people like to celebrate with family and friends. There is COVID-19 fatigue that has set in and families have given up birthdays, graduations, weddings and anniversaries already this year. By golly we are not giving up on Christmas — some may be thinking.
I also think that risky behaviors that suffer no detrimental impacts beget more risky behaviors. Take the family that chose to get together over the Thanksgiving holiday and suffered no ill effects. No one got COVID-19, fell ill, went to the hospital — therefore, we should be able to repeat what we did with the Christmas holiday. And, they may once again dodge the COVID-19 bullet, or then again, their luck will have run out since the virus is running rampant through most of the nation.
The recent Supreme Court ruling letting religious institutions chose their destiny without intrusion by public health restrictions will be another COVID-19 multiplier.
While I expect Christmas to be a COVID Catastrophe from all the ill people presenting themselves at hospitals, the medical surge and the infection rates will repeat themselves again around the middle of January 2021.
It is not fun, but if you want to help your community and have the promise of future holidays spent with "all your family members" it would be appropriate to skip Christmas, or at least your traditional Christmas. That is the plan at the Holdeman household. No family get togethers, no big Christmas morning breakfast that I traditionally make with my wife.
I fully expect that by this time next year we will be "back in business" with traditional celebrations. We hope to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary one year late sometime in 2021.
It is all called delayed gratification!
