Not sure where to put this but this topic could be a holiday subject for parents/grandparents.
I was just shocked to see a neighboring town announce that children will be able to visit Santa at the mall but instead of sitting on his lap they will sit on a bench or present.
I have to say I’m finding it a little hard to believe that with everything going on and everything NOT going on, that people will be taking kids to the mall for Santa visits?!!!
Am I off base here???
The thirty something parents in my town seem to think they and their children are immune.
My older S built an online model of his house and added IRL pics into that app. (The app was designed for D&D-type games.) He has invited everyone to his “house” Thursday afternoon so we can visit. We are in three different time zones, ten hours apart, so it’ll be lunchtime in CA and 10pm in Eastern Europe. Maybe we’ll even get to meet ExpatS’s GF! ?
^that is really cool!!!
On a different note, I wish my boss had not forwarded an email from HR. If they aren’t going to require anyone traveling to quarantine, fine. But the email stated “As you can see by this CDC map, the entire world is high risk right now. An employee who travels no longer has a higher risk of catching COVID than a person staying in .”
Really? A person travelling through multiple airports, seeing dozens of family across the country, or getting on a cruise ship is at no greater risk than someone staying in our little town not connected by an interstate or airport to anywhere? Really? SMH. I just can’t wrap my ahead around how someone can seriously make that statement. And these are the people in charge
Too late to edit, but if the HR director looked further at the CDC website, she might have found this statement “Travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.” And the map in question colored the world at the country level.
At this point, we are trying to figure out a way to get DDs Christmas decorations to her (she and SIL have a cute little house to decorate and her collection is here). Ditto gifts for them for Christmas.
She is an emergency department resident, working the whole month of November (including thanksgiving weekend) and until December 22. She has the Christmas holiday off and we had originally planned to have either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day somehow with them.
Clearly she can’t quarantine for two weeks before testing, etc.
Guess she will drive over, and we will put everything for them on the porch…she can load up her car and go home.
We were excited about the prospect of decorating with her, etc.
Maybe same time next year.
Any one know what kind of clout HR should have? SIL works with a guy who is going to Disney World for a week over Christmas! Flying across the country! When asked, by SIL, if co-worker is taking 3 weeks off, “Nope, can’t afford that.” If they report him to HR, what should happen? This is a government job. Coworkers are angry and frustrated as well as at risk.
@somemom I think it depends on the company culture and policy. If this is in violation of the state’s covid quarantine policy, the other recourse is reporting the individual to the health department
@somemom i am in a government job as well. I so feel your pain. When the people who make the policiew don’t believe covid is a problem and masks do no good, I don’t know what you can do.
I suppose one could sue the employer for putting you at risk, but that has many other repercussions.
Daughter is here now (the car ride worked out great). I woke up with a feeling of peace and calm with having all three of us under the same roof (a big break from the my constant sense of anxiety!). The three of us plan a calm week of cooking, eating, jigsaw puzzles, binge movie watching, and reading ( only outside trips will be to get fresh produce).
@somemom Is this Federal, State, or Municipal government? At the very least HR or OccHealth should have some guidelines/policy about Covid-19 posted. SIL should take a look at these which should inform his next steps. If reporting employee won’t have consequences for that employee, then maybe SIL should ask for remote opportunities based on perceived risk.
@abasket, no you are not off base in wondering about the prudence of taking kids to the mall. Indoors is bad. This article is a pretty interesting explanation of some of the risks. https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html. If the mall has high ceilings and good air circulation, the risk is lower. (Although I have almost everything delivered, I would feel a lot more comfortable going to Costco than our local health food store with small aisles and low-ish ceilings.) If you have to wait in line behind other folks, never mind.
The forecast for SoCal for Thanksgiving Day is a high of 63, low of 42. Too cool to eat outdoors for me. And since the governor thought eating with a group of 12 indoors was fine well…
@TatinG 63 is plenty warm! Just schedule the meal for the warmest part of the day.
I had lunch out doors yesterday. About 62 degrees. Wore a fleece jacket and sat in the sun. About noon. It was warm enough as there was no wind.
Friends are doing their Thanksgiving in their three car garage. Two of their kids and spouses will be coming. Each family will have their own six foot table in their own section of the garage. But they will sort of be in the same room. They will leave the garage doors open, and open windows in the garage as well. No cars will be in! They have several space heaters and they’re putting one by each table. Trying to make it as festive as possible.
And they will bundle up too…
That’s exactly why we are where we are. Everyone says, Oh, it’s just one lunch/movie/meal inside, and boom. Pandemic.
Also, very few people understand the concept of geometric progression.
The two households planning to gather for Thanksgiving (ours and my parents’) went for our covid tests this morning. We all went to the same place. We had appointments, but it looked like they were also accepting drop-ins. There seemed to be a lot of college-aged kids lined up.
The pharmacy tech told us that due to heavy volume, the time to get results had been extended. Whereas before they were promising within 72 hours (but in our three experiences with them, actually delivering results at 48), they are now promising within 5 days. So, it seems we may not have our results until Thanksgiving Day. We’re just going to play it by ear, and if we don’t get to celebrate the holiday until Friday (or Saturday?), so be it. I’m making all the make-ahead stuff on Wednesday, regardless and we’ll eat it when we can. The only ones who will bristle a bit are our kids, who will not love isolating for an extra day or two (but will do it anyway).
@TatinG It is all relative, I guess. It is an unseasonably 64 here right now, and I’m sitting outside in shorts and flip flops. If I could count on weather in the 60’s on Thanksgiving Day, we’d be eating outside in a heartbeat. Of course, we’ve been hosting friends for meals outside with a chiminea and outdoor heaters all fall. Our cutoff temp for “too cold” to sit and comfortably enjoy a meal seems to be 50.
PA is doing so dismally now. Credit is going to two sources - colleges reopening with many students not adhering to safety plans and being a battleground state, therefore getting oodles upon oodles of rallies everywhere with no masks or cares. (Nearby NY and MD weren’t battleground states and are doing much better. They still have college student derived spread.)
Rally people returned home afterward and continued everyday life.
Now college students are returning home and homes will be combining for holidays - indoors due to the weather.
I guess the plus side is fewer people will be needing to be vaccinated quickly with the spread that is out there. Every county in our state except one really rural one is above 5% positivity now, many about 10%.
The major con is many hospitals are starting to feel the rush, including our local one. It’s hard to imagine everyone there is going to get the best care possible, and the physical + mental drain on the health care workers seems to get forgotten. It seems the physical and mental drain of those who can’t go out to eat inside a restaurant (or similar) is more important.
Economics are also an issue, of course. At least special days local counties (including mine) devoted to many charities of all sorts brought in record setting amounts. Many people are trying to help each other.
And for us, H is still feeling guilty not going to VA to be with FIL. We know we’re safe due to isolating and not needing to stop between A and B. We know FIL falls and really needs someone there a lot (which we have been doing except for some “work” breaks). He’s still up in the air about it all. Maybe he will change his mind. Time will tell.
I feel for all who don’t have easy answers about what to do.