We have made the heartbreaking decision to not go to Hawaii over March break. As a family, we have been talking about this every night over dinner. Both Jeff and I flip-flopped every hour as news came in about the spread of COVID-19, followed by op-ed pieces about why we should continue to live life as normal.
In case you are in your own conundrum and on the fence, here are the reasons we made our choice.
1) My MIL is 82 and lives here in Calgary. She is terrified that she will become infected and die. While we love her, she is not above calling my husband in a panic while we are in Hawaii to tell us she sneezed. We would be pissed at first, then worry that she is alone.
2) The orange man to the south scares us more than COVID-19. In fact, while we were having dinner last night and discussing the “what if” of Trump ordering all foreign nationals into quarantine, he announced the suspension of EU travel to the US.
3) We have a moral responsibility to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Every person we come into contact with, regardless of where we live, has a loved one who could be severely impacted by this virus. It’s our duty to not only protect ourselves, but to try to prevent further spread. It’s irresponsible of me to think “fuck you, I want to swim in and smell the ocean” and not consider the woman at Foodland who is working three jobs to pay for her 7-year-old’s asthma medicine. I’ll let you figure out the long-term financial implications of that one.
I live in a privileged world. I certainly didn’t grow up that way, and that made me hyper-sensitive to those who don’t have luxurious choices. I can’t save anyone from getting infected, but I can make damn sure to use my words and my actions to make smart choices and encourage others to do the same