Covid Concerns and Kiddie Tables
Last week I didn’t leave the house other than once to check on a customer. I was on antibiotics for an infection. That was not fun. It was painful as all get out. But 12 hours after starting the antibiotics the pain was gone and it had stopped spreading. Modern Society is pretty amazing. a century ago I’d probably have ended up in a hospital with both of my arms amputated. We have so much to be grateful for. The downside is that my stomach did not like 10 days of broad spectrum meds. So while I was working remotely and binge watching Designated Survivor on Lisa’s NETFLIX account I managed to stay completely oblivious to the fact that the world had basically given the middle finger to SARS-COV2 for Chinese New Year.
When I finally left my apartment to pick up Lisa I was amazed. Every parking space was taken. Every table at the restaurants we passed were being used. The crosswalks were full. It was like Christmas 2019 downstairs. Mass was the same way, we had to fight for a parking space in the AUXILIARY lot. It was pretty cool to see the church full on a Sunday for the first time in 2 years. I fully suspected the holiday Omicron wave to subside about 4 weeks later. Anyone paying attention for the past 2 years would come to the same conclusion. The question is; will the abatement last until after the wedding? On that front, we completely understand that people may not be up for interstate travel with kids during a pandemic. We are working to set up some sort of live stream and maybe an interactive virtual experience for those who can’t make it. I’ll have more on that next week. I would love to pretend we are out if the woods. Something like 85% of adults in the US have been immunized, and there have been over 75 million domestic positive tests to date. 6 weeks seems so far in the future when it comes to Covid-19 variants
Personally, i’ve enjoyed keeping an eye on the CDC's very helpful community spread tracker (above) which has had all counties pegged in the red since last summer. Someone over there doesn’t understand what “actionable intelligence” is.
At this time we do not plan to have any sort of health check. Nor will we be requiring masks or vaccination records at the wedding, reception, or any after party that happens to spring up out of nowhere. That being said, please feel free to monitor your own health needs and we will happily receive your apologies if you cant make it due to the need to self quarantine. We also apologize in advance to anyone whom this decision makes apprehensive about attending. We will of course continue to listen to our public health officials when making these sorts of calls. Also, we reserve the right to change our minds about masks, health checks, or other measures up to the time the open bar at the reception closes. Its our party. We hope to see you there!
Now, on to the next topic. The whirlwind planning, and online payment processing processions, have pretty much come to an end. Only a few more big ticket items to handle, and we sit down next week to hash out the decorations. All that hustle (and stress) had really put a strain on our relationship. For me, the desire to finish things started to overshadow the need to work together. I think it is fair to say we were both pretty frustrated. Perhaps not with each other, if only to differentiate between a person and their actions. Luckily we had a marriage prep class on the 30th and it was on communication. It was like having a weight lifted off of my shoulders 10 minutes in. We do seem to communicate well when we try. So I’m resolved to trying.
Lisa and I have gone back and forth on kids and the wedding. On one hand, we love our friends and family and would not want the logistics of sitters and feedings to keep people home. On the other hand, paying $140 for a eight year old to have chicken nuggets and lemonade is viscerally painful to me, especially with such limited space available. On another hand, we can not imagine our nieces and nephews not being there, and would hate for them to be bored stiff sitting by themselves waiting for an adult to tell them to pretend to be happy. Some of my favorite memories from that age were made at my older cousins’ weddings. Having reviewed the options after soliciting advice from family and friends we’ve decided to trust in God's plan when it comes to kids…at our wedding.
It is amazing how smart and reasonable restricting a family’s ability to celebrate your joy can seem. In the end it all seemed rather pedantic and uncharitable. Please come to our wedding. Please enjoy yourself at our reception. However, feel free to use the cry rooms in the church if needed. Feel free to enjoy a kid free date night if you want one. Feel free to celebrate our happy day with your whole family in tow.
In the end I think Lisa said it best:
“It’s a celebration, let’s bring together families.”
I could not agree more.
