I’LL HAVE MIXED FEELINGS GATHERING WITH MY FAMILY
The season when we are supposed to be reflective and thankful is upon us, and the pandemic makes this process much more acute for me. If gathered with family members around a dinner table for the holidays, I have personal and public acknowledgments I would like to make, with reservations for others.
Restrictions in a global pandemic have made family reunions difficult, if not impossible in some circumstances. A tip of the hat to the scientists working to improve on the effectiveness of vaccines that provide greater safeguards to my extended family and friends. Vaccines have been indispensable for me personally. I can visit my parents knowing we have a buffer to reduce the likelihood of transmitting the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Those reunions are so urgent when a loved one is in a delicate state of health. Every moment with them is precious. That’s why I salute the medical staff caring for my father, who has been in a hospice program since August 2020, and health care professionals around the world for devoting their lives to the medical profession. I am in awe of their selfless desire to comfort and nurse strangers despite how politicized such an act has become. They’ve borne the brunt of the trauma of caring for those who did not make it, often being the last to witness a person’s final breath when succumbing to the disease.
However, as time is essential in this pandemic of global proportions, it’s become evident that being vaccinated is a privilege. So I’ll withhold any salutation to governments that have not yet prioritized people in poorer nations, or vaccine companies, unconscionably, looking to profit from them. That there are inequities in the distribution of vaccines is exactly how the world spun pre-pandemic, and it’s shameful that the pattern continues while the world exists in crisis.
To educators, especially those in my family, working with children and adults in different learning environments, I express my absolute reverence. Whether it’s the children who take off their masks to sneeze, or the college student who adheres to antivaxx hysterics claiming face masks are threats to freedom, educators are on the line every day in the classrooms. No thanks to those threatening educators and peddling fear as a base for developing perverse curricula.
To colleagues supporting migrating people around the world, working at odds with governments that respond with rejection and militarization, a humble bow to your relentless advocacy and dedication to the belief that those displaced and seeking refuge should be welcomed with dignity. Your shared vision that borders should not dictate your desire to help those fleeing violence makes the insurmountable work less so every day.
To food and agricultural workers, janitors, grocery store workers and those supplying our essential needs, thank you for your survival. You are not invisible to me.
Finally, a warm embrace of comfort to those working through mental health challenges during these unprecedented times. I’m forever thankful that you are in my life.
It’s become evident that being vaccinated is a privilege.