Since Late January, 2020, my husband and I have stayed close to home. In our normal life we would have been all over the globe. We had several international trips planned from March 2020 to March 2021. It amazes me how much time we would have been traveling. Our destinations included United Kingdom, Spain, France, Holland, Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria and Romania, in Europe; Israel in Asia; Australia and New Zealand. These do not include the little trips we would have taken in the United States to meetings and to visit family.
When I look at this list, I tense up just thinking about all packing and arrangements I would have been doing to make these trips enjoyable and stress free. We did so much traveling that we never worried about packing and making these arrangements because traveling was second nature.
In an instant everything changed.
Instead, like most everyone else, we stayed home. Our March and April trips were immediately cancelled. But before that, on March 2, we actually closed on a new home and moved in April. I was going to do all of the packing and moving in between travels! Now, when I think back about having all these trips planned, I am stunned at my own arrogance. I would have had a new home and all the issues that go with that while traveling! I honestly just did not think about it. I would have just done it… with much stress!
In a way, the pandemic did me a favor.
I am glad all those trips got cancelled and I had a chance to stay home. I enjoyed having time to get everything accomplished with less stress and just being in my own back yard, eating in my own kitchen and walking along the paths with friends in my community.
However, we did miss our family and friends. Zoom and phone calls were nice. But to me they are not the same as seeing people in person. With both of us being fully vaccinated, and with many of our friends vaccinated, it seemed like the time had come to plan a trip. The pandemic was not over, but with vaccines, it was definitely better in our area.
We were both a bit nervous about leaving home and venturing out. So we planned our first trip as a road trip to Arkansas where we have some really good friends, our long-term neighbors, who retired to the Eureka Springs area of Arkansas. We loved the Beaver Lake area, and the great views from their home. We knew with them we would have a great time. Feel safe. And, most of all, be with friends we missed!
While there we could also meet up with other friends who lived in Bentonville and Fayetteville. It was especially important for me to meet up with my Bentonville friend. She and I had grown up together in New Jersey. Her Mom and my Mom were good friends. And during COVID, her 94-year-old mother passed away. With all the restrictions, I could not go to see her. This made me really sad. Like so many others, she had to do her grieving alone.
Plans were made. Arrangements to meet up in Bentonville were finalized. We went on our first foray out of Kansas. The drive down was uneventful. When we arrived, we had the best hugs with our friends.
Later we realized our packing techniques were a bit out of practice. My husband forgot socks. Not a big problem. But reminded us we had not done this for a long time.
The next day was a trip to Bentonville. Six of us enjoying a the lovely weather. We Visited the C21 Museum Hotel and saw the exhibits. We got ice cream at the ice cream parlor by the original Wall Mart. We walked around the town square.
At lunch my childhood friend turned to me and said, “I am really glad you are here today. It is the one-year anniversary of my Mom dying.” I think we both had tears in our eyes at that moment!
I did not remember that it was on April 30 that her Mom passed away. I knew it was early in COVID. I thought how serendipitous that we arranged this trip. But then I thought how sometimes events happen for a reason. Arranging this trip, being there at this time, in a way made up for the time we lost, when I could not come. Now, I was there when she needed me. It was a moment that felt had some divine intervention.
I am glad we went trip for so many reasons. We needed to be able to travel again. To cross over the bridge of just staying home to going somewhere close, and with people we feel so comfortable with made a difference. It felt strange to be away from home; to be eating at someone else’s kitchen table and speaking with people; to be watching my favorite reality show, “Escape to the Chateau,” with another person who also loved it!
But most of all, I am glad I was there to mark the anniversary of my friend’s mother. So many lost people they loved in the past year and were unable to follow the usual path of grieving. Marking the first-year anniversary helped.
It will take time for me to feel back to normal when I travel. I am not sure when I will feel comfortable flying again. But this trip gave me hope that there will be a post pandemic return to some sort of normal.
zicharonot 