I realize people are tired of the restrictions and the masks. I really do. Personally, I like sitting in Starbucks at this time of year, sipping a hot peppermint mocha and watching people. I've come up with some excellent story ideas by watching people at their best and worst this time of year.
But I haven't been inside any cafe or restaurant for nearly a year, other than to rush in to pick up a carryout order while wearing full protective gear. And it's okay.
My father-in-law sits nervously in his apartment, as more of his friends are taken to the hospital, never to come home. My niece has been in and out of quarantine the last two months because other parents won't keep their children home when someone in their household becomes infected. Granted leave by the Army, Genius Kid slept in his car to prevent exposure at any hotel in his 24-hour trip home.
But GK doesn't dare go see his Papa. There are limits to the risks we all take, but that doesn't mean we don't care. GK called his Papa and talked to him. We won't have the big family gathering on Christmas or our game night on New Year's Eve. But DH and his sisters are texting each other more this year than they have in the last decade. GK texts his cousins. I e-mailed mine.
Physically apart does not equate to emotional distance, and vice versa. You may not be in the same room, but that doesn't mean you don't care. Or they don't care.
There's a light at the end of this tunnel. Vaccines are coming, albeit slowly.
Or you could take a page from Bella's book. Pack is pack, no matter where a pack member may be.
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