Counting Our Blessings

I knew the piece was going to be an American perspective, but I read it anyway since it does touch on the lack of travel this year:- 'The Sadness of the Trips Not Taken' written by Sarah Firshein, published in The New York Times on December 2, 2020. 

It's not just about missing out on taking vacations. It's also about not being able to see friends and relatives when one lives in such a big country. We travel to an end point of fun and joy, and also travel to an end point of sadness and communal support. I suppose the article would somewhat resonate if one has close relatives and good friends residing overseas, all of whom one visits often in a regular year.

It’s natural to take stock of the year-that-was when the holidays roll around. Through the lens of travel, 2020 for many has been about — well, nothing and nowhere. Ms. Abraham and other would-have-been-trip-takers are left grappling with a specific loss, not only about places not seen and experiences not had, but also milestones not celebrated, people not hugged and time that’s impossible to get back. They are also questioning whether they have any right to feel sadness, given the widespread illness, death and economic turmoil caused by the virus.

I'm slightly less of a 'family' person. I'm not bound by family ties in that way. It's my conscious decision not to, and I'm fine with that. Even in this pandemic, I have no desire to 'reconnect' or 'get in touch'. That's applicable to friends too. Those who are in my life now, are the ones in my life who matter. Reading articles like this remind me how people who are close to their family feel.

I live in a city whose government has more or less restricted lesiure traveling. Bearing all the costs of COVID-19 tests, quarantine and treatment has effectively put all thoughts of travel out of our heads. If we do take the decision to travel, we weigh that against whether the objectives are worth the risks and all the trouble. Even travel bubbles burst, so optimism isn't of any help. Those of us lucky and privileged enough to call traveling a regular thing have all put that on hold. Viable vaccines have been approved by governments and pushed out across the cities. A sliver of silver lining in sight. Unless the COVID-19 virus mutates and goes into different variants, which will send more countries into fresh lockdowns.

Early this year, Judy Mallory, 71, bought her grandson, Max, a yellow Paddington Bear-inspired raincoat: the perfect accessory for their planned September vacation to London and Belgium.

Along came the pandemic. The trip — which would have been with Ms. Mallory’s son and daughter-in-law — unraveled: no charming Airbnb in London’s Notting Hill, no Eurostar to Brussels, no watching Max, who will turn 2 in February, absorb his first international setting.

“I am seeing my ‘travel life’ pass me by,” said Ms. Mallory, a retired elementary schoolteacher who lives in San Diego. “I’m not saying I’m going to stop traveling when I’m 80, but I do have to worry about safety because of my age, and this felt like a loss — not only the loss of time, but the loss of time with my family.”

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And although Ms. Abraham, who wasn’t able to make it to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving, also had a family Christmas trip to Malaysia crumble, she still considers herself lucky.  “Every day we say our thank-yous for what we have, and who we have, in our lives — I’m knocking on wood,” she said.

I guess this is a mindset many of us have taken — 'counting our blessings'. Entire industries have grounded to a halt. Swathes of jobs across spectrums have been rendered irrelevant without relief in sight. Many of us still have jobs. Some took payouts, many had no bonuses this year. But we still have a salary and our health, so we become a little more prudent with our spending and look at streamlining expenditure. This must be a year when we have the space to cut out the frills and leeches (figuratively). 

The country moves into Circuit Breaker Phase 3 come December 28. The first batch of vaccines should arrive in Singapore very soon and be progressively rolled out to everyone. I'm glad the frontline workers and crew from essential services, the elderly and vulnerable will receive the vaccines first. Then hopefully, we gain herd immunity to this particular strain of coronavirus in 24 months. It doesn't nip the root of the issues though. We still encroach on wildlife. We still EAT IT. That's a big fat 'serve us right'. The question is, when's the next pandemic going to hit?