A COVID Christmas Story

It was just another COVID Christmas for us this year. (You need to sing the line to the tune of Manic Monday. )

Last year was a COVID Christmas too. We had a very small quiet Christmas at our family home at Shawnigan Lake. It was just Sharlene, my stepfather and me. We didn’t get together with our kids or any other family members. In fact, last year we kept pushing our holiday plans along to the next holiday. Our Thanksgiving plans were pushed to Christmas. Christmas was pushed to Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year was pushed to Easter and so on.

This was the year to get back to normal. We looked forward to having Christmas with our kids. Our daughter, Hannah, planned to host Christmas dinner at her place in Vancouver. We looked forward to all being together. We even toyed with the idea of taking the boat over though decided against it in the end. At this time of year, one has to plan around the weather systems. Low pressure systems roll through every few days bringing high winds, rain and even snow. It’s hard to be on a fixed schedule when the weather dictates when and where we go.

A few days before Christmas Hannah called with the news that she had tested positive for COVID-19. We were all a bit stunned–especially Hannah.

Hannah is in her first year of teaching elementary school. She has been very careful regarding COVID. She wears a mask at work and when she’s out and about. Also, she is double vaccinated. Part of her carefulness is what prompted her to be tested. She had a bit of a sore throat and because we planned to stay with her over the holiday, she thought she’d better get tested. She didn’t feel that bad so when her test results came back positive, I think she was more frustrated than sick. She immediately self-isolated. Unfortunately, her isolation wasn’t to be over until December 26th so Christmas at her place was out.

We decided to stay at our family home for Christmas. Our son, Brian, was already with us. Also, our niece, nephew and his girlfriend decided to join us for a few days over the holiday. They took rapid tests before travelling over. The tests were negative. They arrived Christmas Eve and by Christmas morning my nephew didn’t feel well. He took another rapid test and this time his test was positive. He immediately isolated in a downstairs room. His girlfriend soon joined him in isolation after she too tested positive. From there it was just a matter of time.

I became ill a couple of days later–Sharlene and my niece a couple of days after that. It was a holiday of masks, rapid tests and isolation. Thankfully my 91-year-old stepfather did not become ill. He had a booster vaccine the first week of December. Between the booster and self-isolation, he stayed healthy.

That was our Christmas. When travel writer Tim Cahill was asked what makes a good travel story he replied that things need to go wrong. If everything on a trip goes according to plan, it doesn’t make for a good story. For a memorable story, things have to go wrong. If I apply this logic to our Christmas holiday, this is a Christmas we will remember for many years to come.