Neighbor Tuesday: Holidays and a COVID/respiratory update
And a special note to pastors and church leaders
Hi neighbors! Can you believe Christmas is less than a week away?! I can’t but I’m ready for it - well, mainly the great food and coziness of the holidays.
Speaking of holidays, I don’t need to tell you that respiratory illnesses (COVID, Flu, RSV) are everywhere. If you’re like me, it feels like everyone is sick right now - and you’re not wrong. LOTS of people are sick. So here’s a few tips for the holidays coming up:
If you’re sick, stay home. This is the pits to have to say that! But, it’s just not worth giving that to someone else and then giving it to someone else - those gifts that keep on giving are no fun. So, stay home. Consider staying home if your immediate family members are sick too. I totally know these are hard situations, especially if you’ve planned on traveling to see family you only see a few times a year.
If you’re flying, wear a really good mask at all times! Wash those hands too.
If you’re hosting - It is ok to ask everyone to test before they come in the house. “But my family would never go for that!”. Let me help a bit - You could have everyone test prior to getting to your house. Or you can be innovative and throw a party outside for a few minutes - That party would mean that you hand out COVID tests and give them hot cocoa as they wait for the result. I had a friend who did that and it worked! She also had music going. It also helped the atmosphere remain casual for family members that do not want to test at all. It’s your house though, so hand out the cocoa and tests. =) And put on the music.
If you can and it is weather permitting, open the doors and windows to help air circulate.
Mask when you’re out. I am masking everywhere I go now. I was masking only in high-people-areas (like Costco or airports), but am masking at all places now because of the rates being so high. So, grab that mask again! And make sure it’s a good one - KN95 or N95.
Wash those hands! Use hand sanitizer in the car, in the kitchen, at work, and other places you’re normally at. Remind the kiddos to wash for 20 seconds too and sing Jingle Bells a few times to reduce the complaining. =)
If you’re a church leader or pastor, I would highly recommend sending an email out to your congregants to put those masks back on for the Christmas Eve candlelight service or the upcoming Sunday morning service. No one wants to spread the respiratory gunk while singing Silent Night. =) I also want to recognize that it could be really hard for you to recommend that to your congregants depending on where you live or the makeup of your church. You could remind them that it’s not forever that you’re asking to wear masks again. Remember the curve goes up and always comes down. So, there’s an end to this wave. But we need to weather it well and protect one another, our healthcare workers, and neighbors. I think this holiday season is a great season to do just that.
If you plan on going to a candlelight service, a holiday concert, or somewhere else with lots of people, mask, mask, mask.
Stay safe out there, neighbors. And, I hope you are having some time to enjoy the holidays in whatever way that looks for you. I will be taking the next few weeks off from the Neighbor Tuesdays to be with family and probably eat way too much. =) I do plan on writing more personal-type posts (some exclusive ones to you paid subscribers!) in the next few weeks, especially about the past year of writing the book and the good (and hard) that has been. I also plan on reading, resting, and reading some more.
Happy end-of-the-year, everyone. I’m certainly grateful for you!
Now, I’m going back to eating Mexican food by the Christmas tree - and telling my kids the story of all the ornaments again. =) I love a good homemade ornament tree! Our tree is not IG-pretty, but it’s my favorite. Here’s a few for ya!
-Emily