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How to Survive This Winter
And election. And holiday season.
This summer was a welcome respite from the long months indoors closed off from so many faces that I love.
It was deeply gratifying to have friends over for outdoor dinners and drinks on the porch. Even if at separate tables with some feet between us, I could feel the warmth of companionship right down to my toes.
To gather with beloved others outdoors to hike and kayak and splash in the waves.
To hold a new niece for the first time.
It wasn’t everything. But it was a whole heck of a lot.
Now as the days grow shorter and the New England temperatures begin their steady decline, the virus is surging both locally and nationally, and also creeping in on those I love, in what feels like a tight net drawing closer and closer.
First, my parents’ favorite restaurant closed for an outbreak. Then cases started springing up where I teach. Where my daughter goes to school. My in-laws’ tennis club. A charitable organization whose board I serve on. The significant other of someone who regularly interacts with my brother and parents.
Closer and closer, circles drawing ever nearer.
Unlike the spring surge which seemed to largely be driven by larger superspreader events and residential settings (Boston’s Biogen conference, nursing homes, meatpacking plants), contact tracing reveals that in my state, the current surge is being driven by small indoor gatherings among friends and family.
Meanwhile, Dr. Fauci says Thanksgiving might be off the table, and my governor is urging people in our state to avoid mixing households at indoor gatherings whenever possible.
