I would like to start this post by saying that I didn’t want to travel. Traveling right now is not fun. It’s hard. It’s frustrating. It’s annoying.
If you’ve been around this blog for a while, you’ll know that I lost my uncle earlier this year. We actually learned of his death just three days before the province virtually shut down in precautionary COVID measures. Planning a funeral was seemingly impossible. Not only were there legal limits on how many people could be in one place at one time, but we also needed to think about the fact that my father, his siblings and most of their relatives (with exceptions of kids and grandkids) are 60 are older. Gathering in a large group seemed… not just stupid, but dangerous too.
COVID cases in Western Canada were trending downward for a while. Businesses started reopening and we reached a point that people were told groups of 50 or more could meet outside. Given the news warning we could be headed for a second lockdown, my aunt came up with a plan to host a funeral for my uncle now, before it got too late and we hit a second wave.
The plan was to meet at the beach. My aunt has a cabin at the lake and they have a pretty spacious beach. The rule was that only my uncle’s siblings, their spouses and their children were allowed to come. No grandkids, no cousins or other extended family, no former coworkers… no one was allowed to come who wasn’t immediately, and closely tied to my uncle. The details were strict and needed to be adhered to at all costs. Everyone had to wear masks. Everyone was provided pocket sized hand-sanitizer. Everyone had to stand/sit six feet or more apart.
I went and got an asymptomatic COVID test on Thursday, received my results on Friday morning and left. The only stop made along the way was to get gas and brownies in Lake Louise. (IYKYK) There were a lot of people in Lake Louise blatantly ignoring bylaws mandating that people wear masks. There were also A LOT of crowds. People didn’t seem to care about COVID.
When I got to the town the funeral was being held in, I immediately went to the hotel. Driving through the parking lot I saw a lot of American license plates, which was curious to me as the Canada/USA border is still closed to non-essential travel and this town is not even remotely close to any route to Alaska. When I got to the hotel lobby, I was met with a lot of people hanging out, laughing in the lobby without masks. Again, people didn’t seem to care about COVID. I’m not sure why as the particular area I was in was/has been averaging 100 cases per week. (100 cases might not seem like a lot compared to news we’re hearing about Brazil and the USA, but 100 for this little town and their small population is a very large number)
I nearly lost my cool at the elevator when a man with a southern accent pushed his way onto my elevator without a mask and then tried to intimidate me when I got out of the elevator. I wanted so badly to argue with him, but his lack of mask reminded me it might smarter for me to step out of the elevator and let an asshole be an asshole. The southern accent made me also think that he might be from one of the cars with American plates that I saw in the parking lot, and if he was traveling, I didn’t want to be near him.
For the most part, I stayed in my hotel room.
When I left the room I had a mask on. I had hand sanitizer with me and I have a little gadget on my keychain that makes it so I don’t have to push buttons or open doors with my fingers.
The next day I got up, got dressed and went to the funeral.
I was nice.
It was sad. But it was the farewell that my uncle deserved.
I’m certain that we looked entirely weird to anyone who saw us… all spaced out on a beach yelling at one another.
We laughed about my uncle’s dry sense of humour. We smiled and celebrated when we learned stories from his life of the goodness he spread. We cried when we talked about how tragic his passing was. We never got near one another. Though I’m sure everyone wanted to hug one another, everyone acted with precaution. I was proud of them all for that because, while the other people might not care what’s happening in this world, my family was able to successfully have a funeral for my uncle without anyone getting sick.
The funeral ended, I got in the car and I left. I stopped only to get gas, and I was home that night, shortly after midnight.
There were no hugs. There were no handshakes. There was no stopping to see sights. There was no going without a mask. Precautions were taken at every step of the way.
I was anxious for weeks about this funeral. I didn’t want to travel, but I wanted to be there for my uncle. I didn’t want to be around people, but I wanted to be there for my family.
My recommendation to anyone who has to travel, or is considering travel is to be careful. Don’t be stupid. Take precautions. You may be perfectly healthy, but all it takes is for you to cross paths with one sick person and everyone you cross paths with for the rest of that day and likely for weeks after, you could be spreading germs too. That’s how COVID spread around the world (literally) in a matter of three short months. If you don’t have to go somewhere, consider staying home. If you have to go somewhere, be very careful. Precautions help. Don’t hang out in crowds. Wear your mask. Bring sanitizer. Don’t give out hugs. Don’t attend a car show in Hamilton! Keep to yourself. Pretend you’re an introver!
The news is saying that it’s going to be a long, hard winter that’ll be made a lot worse if we don’t take precautionary measures to slow the spread of COVID. So please, please, please be careful.
I apologize for my rude, ignorant and pompas countrymen and your awful encounter with them.
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No apologies necessary. There’s rude, ignorant and pompas idiots everywhere. There’s a lot right here in this city that I live… which is why I don’t like leaving my house right now. lol.
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My personal etiquette requires it of me, even if I’m not the offender and Thank You.
Yes, I can relate to remaining home givin the current trials of covid and rabid humanism.
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Sounds like a (minority member of the population of) America…
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Sure- if that is what it takes to help you feel safer and able to sleep at night.
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Was that to my comment? Because, if so…wow.
FWIW, a preponderance of non-idiots makes me feel safe at night. I’ve no confidence that Amerikkka has that at the moment.
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Glad you’re okay!
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I’m hanging in there. This city is trending upward in cases very quickly though so my worry is definitely on the rise. People don’t seem to care this time around…
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I’ve skipped weddings, birthday and very tempting beach cottage invites, so I completely get your trepidation and praise your family’s collective restraint.
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A beach cottage sounds like a really great place to be a recluse and write for the rest of the year.
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Thank you for sharing this. May your uncle rest in peace.
May we all be safe as a second wave hits all countries.
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I really hope that everyone will take the necessary precautions to stay safe as the second wave hits. As much as I know people are inevitably going to get sick, I don’t want anyone to get sick.
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Great wisdom!
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Thank You
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I’m glad you’re uncle got the send off he deserved. It’s so hard not being able to hug family under these circumstances. You guys did so well.
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It is tough but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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You did a great service to your uncle by taking the risks to honor him. Hang in there!
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Thank you. I do believe everyone deserves a funeral and proper send off.
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Even in a pandemic
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Glad you were able to go and be safe. Kudos to your family. Sorry about the bad behavior you witnessed.
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I’m glad I was able to be there as well. It is a reminder to me, though, that there are idiots everywhere… sadly.
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I’m happy to hear that you were able to get together with family and celebrate your uncle’s life. Stay safe.
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Thank You. I’m happy that we were able to pull it off with no one getting ill. Hopefully as we go into the fall and winter if people need to get together, they’ll take the necessary precautions as well.
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Yeah.. winter is coming
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We’ve already had frost here in Canada. The puffer jackets have come out the toques will be out soon. I’m predicting snow mid-October. We’ll see. We’ll see.
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Glad you were all able to attend after such a long time V, despite the lack of hugs or any other physical contact.
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Yeah. It was important for everyone to be there. We can go without hugs for what it was meant for. Everyone deserves a send-off/farewell when they pass. Even in a pandemic. It makes me truly feel for all of the people who’ve lost friends/family because of the pandemic and they’re going through the same or similar struggles about wanting to give someone a proper funeral. It’s definitely not easy.
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Yes, I understand. Hubby wasn’t able to attend his brother’s funeral. We are waiting until the day we can do something like you have. Hubby doesn’t seem to rest – so until we do this…….. 😦
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Oh, I’m so sorry! That must be hard not being able to say farewell to his brother. Please give him a hug for me.
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Aaww, thank you V x
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I’m glad you got this opportunity. Sorry that you’ve had to deal with this.
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Thank you. I’m glad we were able to pull it off as well.
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My condolences for you and your family.
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Thank You
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