Traveling a long road to family safety amid pandemic
My Irish ancestors had words. Oh, do the Irish have words. “An bóthar fada” loosely means “the long road.” We all have traveled our own long roads since the COVID-19 pandemic gripped our nation. My wife and I have logged more than 5,000 miles crisscrossing five states during five months away from our Niskayuna home, determined to carefully avoid the virus and always sheltering along the way.
We left our home in Niskayuna in mid-february for a planned monthlong visit with our daughter’s family on Chicago’s north fringe. We planned a long stretch to enjoy our grandsons’ school activities and all the outings to special events in and around The City of the Big Shoulders. Of course, that was the blueprint before the virus struck hard.
But in March, life in America was changing rapidly. Suddenly, Illinois and New York closed. Our other daughter and her family moved into the family home in Niskayuna to safely shelter in place away from their apartment and the ever-threatening pandemic in The City that Never Sleeps. But the new living equations presented a dilemma. It meant we couldn’t return to, and sequester alone in, our Niskayuna home. So, at 5 a.m. on a Saturday in mid-march, we “got outta Dodge,” leaving Chicago for our cabin high in the Adirondacks, indeed a very long road.
Three months sheltering in a cabin in the Adirondacks was an isolating challenge in itself, especially for obtaining provisions and going without television, internet and phone service. But at least our entire
family sequestering in Chicago, Niskayuna and up in mountains were all safe and healthy. In late June, our New York City daughter and her family were able to move from our Niskayuna home to a place downstate near New York City for the summer and fall. My wife and I looked forward to returning for good to our home for the first time since mid-february. It was not to be, as suddenly we learned our daughter in Chicago needed emergency surgery.
We started our long road journey back there at five in the morning, to arrive early that evening after her surgery. Now three weeks later, she is progressing and, with our son-in-law’s and grandsons’ help, can look forward to recovery.
In late July we headed back from Chicago and are now finally in our own home. Our journeys throughout those five months took us more than 5,000 miles back and forth over highways
and mountain roads in five states. We sheltered ourselves each step of the way and carefully followed the CDC guidelines and Dr. Anthony Fauci’s advice over those long roads: masks and distancing always and everywhere, sanitizers, hand washing, no dining out, and sequestering before and after getting provisions.
We have survived, and we hope we’ve contributed to the survival of others by following these guidelines. But we all have the long road — “an bóthar fada” — ahead of us. We all must travel that long road consciously, changing our daily lives to take the precautions designed to protect ourselves and those around us. The safety measures developed by our country’s leading medical professionals, infectious disease experts, scientists and researchers save lives. My wife and I are proof of the fact that taking such safeguards can deliver us home at the end of our long road. For sure it’s been a slog (“slog fada” in the Irish), but it is a far, far better outcome than the alternative.