What to do after COVID

Is it time to make plans?

First, it is not time to take a deep breath and pretend this pandemic is over. It is not. Nor is it a hoax. It is real and over 250,000 Americans have lost their lives with it.

It is time for renewed emphasis on measures to reduce the spread. Delaying getting COVID now may mean not getting it at all. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and by late summer most Americans will be vaccinated and the threat of COVID while be minimal.

It is time to look forward and to plan for post vaccination.

For me that entails a trip to visit my son, now in Oregon. I have not seen him since August 2019. It is by far the longest we have been apart. My travels will include stops along the way to and from Oregon.

I want to visit the Alamo, the Grand Canyon and other spots of natural beauty. A stop in the redwood forest of California would be nice.

Once in Oregon, side trips to visit my step children and grandchildren in Washington state are long overdue. I have a cousin I have not seen, maybe since my marriage to my son’s mother would be wonderful. I think she would still welcome me.

On the way back depending on the weather, maybe Yosemite and Mount Rushmore.

The second trip will be to childhood memories.

The lake cottage in Maine becons around Labor Day. I welcome visitors for a swim, a cook out and just plan sitting around the table playing cards and talking.

The lake was always a place to do what you want. The pressure of the outside world just didn’t penetrate to the lake. Oh, Dad would always have a radio turned to the Red Sox finding another way to lose when I was young, or as I became an adult another way to build up our hopes oonly to be dashed and finish 2nd.

Of course with the radio in the background, the cribbage board would provide my father with something else to moan about as he would slowly find a way to beat me there as well. He never seemed to get really good hands. Anything less than 12 was a bad hand. I did win my share.

The memories may be as thick as homemade maple syrup. But it will be good to see first hand the improvements made by my brother and sister with help from a cousin and several nephews.

Any and all are welcome to join in the fun.

So these are my plans.

Hope you can make some us well.