Should I stay or should I go now?
The Clash
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So ya gotta let me know
Should I cool it or should I blow?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So ya gotta let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
When Bill and I packed up our car to head to AZ the Friday before Thanksgiving, our plan was to fly back to Denver sometime around the 15th of December, spend Christmas with our kids, and then fly back to AZ on Christmas Day. It seemed like the perfect plan.
We were no sooner out of Denver when the governor announced that the state of Colorado was Code Red, meaning more restrictions once again. Not only that, but while we were fully aware of the impact COVID was having on people, we knew literally no one who had actually had COVID. Suddenly, my niece Maggie had the virus (thankfully with few symptoms and is fully recovered). Then friends of my sister Jen had the virus. It was starting to hit eerily close to home. COVID was real.
Should we stay or should we go was the question we kept asking ourselves. On the one hand, we can hardly bear the thought of Christmas without seeing our Denver family. We have spent every Christmas Eve with at least some of our kids for 30 years. On the other hand, however, did it make any sense to get on an airplane, fly to Denver, and then 10 days later get on another airplane and fly back to AZ. Because one thing we knew for sure: We want to spend our winter and spring in AZ as usual. If we are going to be quarantined again, we want to do it where it is in the 60s and 70s with no snow.
Should we stay or should we go? Jen was asking herself the same question. She is recovering from her surgery, and will start work in a week. But she is still working from home, so it doesn’t matter which home she works from. Was there any point in taking the risk? It was a difficult question for her because her son is in Fort Collins and will be alone for Christmas.
Should we stay or should we go?
At the end of the day, we have all decided to stay put, at least for the time being. Our conclusion is based on the numbers rising in both Arizona and Colorado, and the Powers That Be begging people to stay put for the holidays.
We left things behind that we figured we would get when we got back mid-December. Now we are going to have to prioritize the importance of some of the things we didn’t bring so that we aren’t inconveniencing our families too much. I also left lights on our bushes out front and a Christmas tree that goes on at 4 in the afternoon and turns off at 7 in the morning. Nice now, but won’t be too nice in April. We’ll figure something out.
Well, 2020 strikes again.
Nana's Whimsies 
One thing I know for sure. I’ll Be Home For Christmas in 2021.
Kris,
Though we are not traveling, we had a similar dilemma, postponing the McArdle Christmas. Every year we are all together here at Knudsen’s — John’s and Tracy’s and ours (and we hosted when Mom & Gram were still alive and the boys were little). Our brother John, who insists we three should be together every Christmas, talked with me at length and he was so calming and wise — “We’ll just all stay here together,” he said about his family, and we talked at length. John is a Grandfather for the first time, and it makes me so sad that we haven’t even met Emersyn yet, and I kept saying, “as long as she’s in our home on Christmas, we can wait”… Our son Quinn had been pretty cavalier about canceling, saying it wasn’t a big deal, and I came down on him fiercely saying he had no idea what coming from a broken family was like, and that it was an outright miracle that Tracy, John, and I remain connected — and are insistent in remaining so. It is a difficult decision, and I am glad you shared yours, though I’m sorry you had to change your tradition. We are having our boys and their families here and they are helping create (some of) the menu, and we hope to gather with the McArdle’s at the end of Winter. I shed lots of tears, especially as I do not think there is as much “danger” as the next generation seems to think, but I guess we will have this odd year as part of our “story”. Thank you as always for your marvelous writing, Kris.
Kate
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