Ask Amy: Vacation plans have expanded too far
Dear Amy: My sweetheart wants to plan a family trip. At first it just involved our household and one other household. Now it has expanded to include plans involving many other households.
I am uncomfortable with this, and have said as much.
The families involved have made suggestions to make me more comfortable, such as the idea that we can check temperatures, etc., but I think it is a dangerous idea to gather in this way.
How would you navigate this?
— Anxious Annie
Dear Anxious: Here’s how I am navigating this sort of dilemma: I’m doing it by saying “no.” This can be surprisingly hard to do, especially when considering the competing agendas that surface during the holiday season.
I don’t consider myself in a particularly high-risk group, but I interact with others who are. I consider a “no” now to be an investment in a future “yes.”
If your sweetheart decides to take this trip without you, he should be tested just before he goes, maintain safe practice while he is gone (not just temperature taking, but masking, maintaining good ventilation, and social distancing), and then he should isolate elsewhere after he returns and re-enter your home only after he has a safe test result.
You should assume that he will not maintain ideal COVID protocol while he is gone, but isolation and testing afterward should ease your mind, and might protect your household.
Dear Amy: I have an aunt who is at the end of her life. She may die within a couple of weeks.
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