Thanksgiving Festivities or lack there of

 Every year for thanksgiving, we have been going to my oldest brothers place for the holiday. Well this year with COVID, we aren't going ANYWHERE. In Ontario, Canada, the government has advised the public to refrain from going to other peoples homes to celebrate thanksgiving. For those of you who don't know, Canada celebrates Thanksgiving usually the second weekend of October, mainly because it gets colder up hear quicker so our crops and farming ends a bit earlier than the United States. 

Let me be blunt, this year has totally sucked. I am sure a lot of you agree with my opinion. What is horrible is that people are dieing, that are not related to COVID, and a lot of families are losing time with those loved ones because COVID is keeping the family members away. This is devastating. Think about that, if someone has an illness not related to COVID at all, they are losing precious memories with their loved ones, all because the government is restricting gatherings of even your immediate family! 

Everyone has been talking about how we are now in a second wave and we shouldn't be having parties and what not. I get it, your average thanksgiving bash of 20+ people is just not viable right now. Ok fine, BUT the Canadian government has gone too far to say you shouldn't be visiting immediate family, but it's OK to dine in a restaurant with six people and strangers surrounding you, or go the gym and workout with 20 people in the building. What happened to social distancing around your loved ones but still being in their company?! 

I am sure, a lot of people will follow the government guidelines, but I am also sure that a lot of people won't and still go to their families place for dinner. Here is the issue, in my opinion, Canadians are getting tired of isolating themselves from family. Not only that, it begins to spark mental health issues in the human brain. I know because I am going through it. I am tired of isolating myself and being alone all the time. Granted, I live with my elderly parents. I work from home, so I don't go anywhere unless it's the grocery store, or my second home, my boyfriends place. But we Catholics had to skip out on Easter, and that was super hard. Easter in the Catholic religion is more important than Christmas believe it or not. What's next, they will tell us at Christmas, oh you can't see your family then either? That's where the government crosses the line for me. I will lose my fucking mind because I am almost there.

The only time I believe one should self isolate during this wretched year, is if they have symptoms of COVID, or the flu. If you are like me where you work from home, and you go visit your parents or your siblings, as long as you maintain distance from them, I don't see anything wrong with that. Continue to wash or sanitize your hands, even wear a mask around them if they are elderly. If you are taking precautions then do not feel bad. We all need to take care of our mental health as well as others mental health. My parents have each other, but there are families who's elderly spouse has passed on, you mean to tell me that they shouldn't be with family during this time? Over my dead body. The worst thing to do is leave an elderly family member alone if they live alone during the holidays regardless. Absolutely ridiculous.

If I can't hug my nieces or nephew, at least I would rather be sitting 6 feet away from them having a laugh. Because holidays are meant for family and friends who are family. Holidays are meant to celebrate the joy in this life. Lets be real, lately there hasn't been that much joy to celebrate. I am not saying go and throw a party, what I am saying is, if your feeling alone, and you need that break from isolation, don't be afraid to call up a loved one and see if there OK with you dropping buy for a short social distancing visit. We all need to take care of ourselves, and others too.

Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for the family and friends we have, the roof over our heads, the clothes we wear, the food we eat. Somewhere out there, people do not have all what we do. So I know I am grateful for a lot. What are you grateful for? 


Peace, Love, Joy

Ant


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