What is a vacation?
Thanksgiving vacation. Ahh, remember Thanksgiving vacations? Getting a few days off from work to spend quality time with the family. I still remember how excited the boys would get when Husband #1 would come home early on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, knowing that he was going to be home from work for the next few days. They would watch football together…hang out…probably catch a minyan or two (or as many minyans as my boys go to in a two-day period). Either hosting dinner or going somewhere for dinner (and probably arguing about that). Those were good times. Did we ever, in a zillion years, think that one day in our lifetime we would be in the midst of a global pandemic?????? No, we did not. Just wanted to answer that question for you…
Vacations were always a treat. The last vacation I went on, officially, was to visit Son #3 in Israel last January. It was amazing! It was magical! It was very fattening! But did I ever think it might be the last time I was going to be allowed to go on a plane to Israel??? Man, I hope not. Remember going on a plane to some beautiful destination? A beach. A hammock. A pina colada. No kids. No phones. No work. Breathing in the beautiful ocean breezes. Vacation.
I sometimes think what kind of mother I would have been to my boys if they were young now. If I were stuck at home with three boys under the age of 4. That would have been a real treat for them…. Or if I was stuck at home with them when they were in high school and were supposed to be Zooming. To all of those mothers — I hope that you are able to go on a vacation very, very soon!
I was watching some morning show the other day. It had a report about cruises. I loved cruises (except the last one I went on, but that story is for another time). The cruise was the perfect vacation. We always went on the cheaper cruises, so it even though the average weight per passenger was 400 pounds, it was all inclusive, and you really got your money’s worth (especially if you brought your own beverages, which, of course, we did). There was entertainment every night, the ability to get really good at the game where you throw the ball into the hole with numbers on it (I cannot think of the name of the game and neither can Husband #1, but I am on a Thanksgiving deadline so you aren’t getting the correct name of it…sorry!) Cruises were great. Some of them even had adult-only sections, so you could sit in the sun and not have to worry about other people’s annoying children bothering you.
Anyway, the piece on the news was talking about cruise lines looking for volunteers to go on a cruise now, so they could practice protocols to keep passengers healthy and safe on the ship. If you went on these cruises, you had to act like everything was fine. You had to participate in all of the activities. And if you or another passenger close to you got sick, you had to agree to follow their isolation protocols. Oh, and also, you had to sign something that said that if you did die from covid, your family wouldn’t sue anyone.
Crazy, right? Who would volunteer for something like that? Well, according to the guy from Royal Caribbean, more than 100,000 people have already signed up to be a volunteer. And you know what, I would volunteer also! Sign me up!! I would much rather be a guinea pig on a cruise ship than for the vaccine. Call me crazy, but I would rather put myself at risk enjoying myself on a cruise then getting a shot that may or may not work. Please don’t judge.
So back to Thanksgiving. I am sure that some of you will be with people, some of you will be alone, but whatever the case may be — please be safe and use common sense. Otherwise, we may never be able to go on another vacation again! And frankly, some of us are coming a little unhinged and need to get away….
Wishing all of you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving season. Be sure to find something to be thankful for, because there is always something, even if it is just something small…
Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck is thankful that her married kids came for Shabbos last week and that Dil #1 let her read to her…
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