Hey we are parents and grand parents so we have been on both ends! We get ya. But, just trying to help a brother/sister out as we all need to get back “home” to TTR to get the fix that gets us thru our mundane lives! Let’s get back to it, it can be done, now let’s all say out loud together...Mom, Dad...
Where we stand with this is that it doesn't really matter to our sets of parents, so it's basically a non-equation for us with regard to travel. My parents are both pretty young(58 &62), and essentially retired to the beach in Delaware (they each have a "busy work" part time job, one cooking and the other waiting tables), and the major key factor here is they are both very healthy (just crazy). So they were not worried about Corona from the start, and just live like normal (to the best of their ability minus mandates). Aside from the first like 2 months of full lock-down, we have seen them multiple weekends at their house our at ours. Our son is going there when we are away Aug 7th, and my niece is also staying with them that week, and both kids can have fun at the beach and pool, and do what they can with the boardwalk. All parties are looking forward to it. Elyse's parents are a little older, and have some concerns. They were much more worried about Corona for a while there. But as they saw other friends and family in their circle loosen up, they did too. They were hard core into the news and were non-stop with it for months, to the point were they were 100% going to get Covid and then 100% going to die. Something eventually flipped once they felt like they missed out on enough, and decided to go back to semi-normal life, which included visits to us, Elyse's sister, and then us all at their house as well. This upcoming weekend they actually got the grandparent itch, knowing Max was going to be with my parents in the near future, so he is headed there for weekend. Our son is not really a factor in this either(mean from his perspective if we go away or not, and he's like a beast, and it be very unlikely he gets sick), and he has played in the neighborhood for many months now with all the other kids, and he was able to go to camp (4 days a week) starting a month ago. Which he wanted to do very much, and so far hasn't been an issue for the 20+ kids there, and they even go on 2 field trips a week (where they can, and the locations are within regulations). I know everyone's situation is different, so I am not trying to saying everyone should be thinking the same way I am. I just wanted to add my perspective of how our families are. IMO once you start running daily errands, going food-shopping often, going to a convince store, letting maintenance people into your house, letting your kids play with other kids, and having friends over, the risk associated with vacation is just the same as the way you are living while doing all that. Now some people aren't doing all that, and that's their right too, feel free to stay as protected as you would like. As always, the biggest risk for getting sick is probably at the airport, but that has been that way as long as I can remember, as I find them dirty to begin with. Which is why whenever Elyse or I travel for work as soon as you walk in the house it's strait to the shower and clothes in the hamper.
@ScubaSteve ...Great post! But as you stated, everybody is living in different circumstances. And damn boy, you really know how to make a guy feel old mentioning parents and in laws’ ages!
I struggled understanding initial post. Seems like it is a combination of separation and concern divided by “fun” factor (or lack thereof) and hassle due to Covid? Excluding Covid concerns, we always timed our trips with either school or Boy Scout trips so the kids were happy and well taken care of. So there was no separation anxiety or guilt. Cannot use that math now so the equation is different. At some point (which is different for all) we do have to make decisions and define either a new normal (what are we giving up) or a return to previous (what are we risking)? I am sure it will be somewhere in between as I don’t think anyone who goes to TTR would choose the bubble wrap extreme? We will be heading to TTR before year end and will be heavier on the risk side of the equation as we liked the way things were and prefer that even with a higher level of risk. That’s us though.
Yep, everybody has their own situation and risk tolerances. We make our choices and live with them. There isn’t really a right/wrong answer. We may both think the other is crazy... but neither of us is wrong.
We’ve decided to keep our trip for now. As long as things don’t get worse, we need a break and the kids can survive 6 days without us here after 6 months of having too much of us ...
