Operation Grandma – a tale of all our hopes and fears

Although I would be delighted if Sage joined forces with onion and got stuffed, the PM was right when he said: “’Tis the season to be jolly careful.”

Well, it is if you plan to have grandparents over. Deprived of the company of their children and grandchildren for many bleak months, some elderly people are more than happy to run the risk.

I happen to think that risk is extremely small. Even if you get Covid over Christmas, it will most probably be a mild case. Six out of seven over80s who have had the virus made a full recovery. Thanks to vastly improved treatment, it is very far from a death sentence for the older generation.

None the less, many senior citizens are extremely nervous. Understandably so. Fear has been the air they breathe since March. A friend’s 83-year-old father has decided to wait for the vaccine, forgo a Yuletide gathering and have a big celebration at Easter. He won’t be alone.

My mother startled me the other night when she said that she would dearly love to join us, but she was worried that, if someone in the family gave her the virus and she died,

I would never forgive myself.

That did give me pause, I admit. So we put our heads together and came up with Operation Grandma.

Himself and the kids have had Covid, but they’re getting tests to check they have antibodies. Then we will all four of us do a swab test a couple of days before my mum is due to arrive. I can drop them off at a nearby lab so we should know at once if we currently have the virus.

To be honest, I don’t know if Operation Grandma will convince her to come for Christmas. But that’s OK. This year, everyone has to respect the decisions of those they love, who may feel a lot less confident than we do.

The words of that lovely carol will never have meant quite so much: “Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light / The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”