The leaves are falling, the temperatures are falling, and night is falling – earlier and earlier. October is the time for fall festivals and foot-ball games, school buses slowing down the drive to work, Trick or Treating, and hayrides. The long, sweltering summer is giving way to cooler days and much cooler nights. Fall is a celebration of colors: orange, copper, yellow, and red. There is a crispness in the air that excites!
But the Covid Fall is very different than years past. Fall Festivals are canceled; ballgames are on TV with no patrons in the stands. School is a virtual classroom for the most part compared to last Fall. Trick or Treat is being culled down to immediate family, and colleges are on again, off again. We are living in a bubble of our former lives and taking each day as it comes.
Fall signals the end of the year in rapid succession: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. In the old days of 2019, we were busy planning trips around school vacations and preparations for family holidays. Big family gatherings have always been the norm for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year, many of us will be concerned about the “over-70” family members mingling with the college kids and great-grandchildren for these significant events. We seem to be scaling down our get-togethers both for safety sake and financial burdens.
Perhaps COVID will bring us back to the true meanings of these holidays. Our families and friends are the most important valuables we possess. It’s not about the big feast or the worry over what to buy someone for Christmas. (They probably bought it for themselves on Amazon Black Friday in Mid-October or whatever it’s called.).
It’s about caring enough to check in every few days or each week with our family members just to say, “I love you,” and “I hope you’re feeling good today.” Or finding ways to entertain the youth of your families. Who knows – they might even enjoy having to find new ways to entertain themselves. We all have a phone and reaching out can be one of the greatest gifts you can give. Please don’t be one of those people who wait to be called.
The world seems to be moving at a slower pace, and that’s a really good thing. Consider it a blessing that we have had the time to see the world from different perspectives. Zoom if you miss someone’s smile, although I would recommend a heads up so we can have our makeup on. We’ll take our vacations driving if we’re not comfortable flying; you really do see more from the car. Don your mask and get out in the world; the grocery store is really getting old. Meet your friends outside and social distance. The fresh air will do you a world of good.
Since Covid, I have begun taking outdoor yoga, and it’s been so refreshing. I can’t wait to get outside in the morning or late afternoon to walk. I’ve seen more of my family this year than I have in the last few years. Life had gotten to a breakneck pace, and I never had enough time to do “what-ever.” I’m in the “well-over-70” group and realized that it’s about time I made time to do “whatever”! This Fall, I am genuinely thankful for all of life’s blessings, including being made to slow down and really enjoy life.
