Covid-19 continues to divide family
Disagreement during the pandemic has destroyed a 'lifetime of love'
Q - During the Covid-19 pandemic, some of our family members chose not to vaccinate themselves or their children. A poor choice, in my opinion, but one we stepped back from.
My husband and I are seniors and wanted to protect ourselves.
One adult child wanted to have a family celebration during this very challenging time, but their family has two members with serious health issues. They thought that by creating some rules, which were such that attendees had to be vaccinated and tested before the event, that at least some family members could attend. Some people felt they were being discriminated against. The family event was ultimately cancelled.
The resulting pushback ended in nasty comments and blocking of social media accounts. Close family ties have since been broken, grandkids not allowed to see grandparents, cousins blocked from cousins. A lifetime of love has just evaporated.
Sadly this rift has not been mended. No overtures of affection by cards and letters have been responded to or acknowledged. Emails are blocked. It is heartbreaking and yet I feel that it is a vast overkill reaction.
What if anything can be done? I have heard we are not alone in this situation.
Cast-aside grandparents
A- What a sad story! Especially because it’s years in the making. In Toronto, the world shut down on March 13, 2020, and here you are fouryears later and there is still division and hurt in your family. As the heads of this family or at least as the elders, and since you’re the ones who wrote me, I think it's up to you to help narrow the divide.
Are there other family members of your generation with whom you can confer? Hopefully, all the grandparents can come together – no matter which side of the vaccination fence you were on – and help build back the bridge among this divided family.
I am not dismissing anyone’s stand on the vaccine; I’m just saying that, with the pandemic behind us (yes, I know Covid-19 still exists, but it is now a known virus, like the flu) families and friends should be able to get back to the loving place where they left off before they found themselves disagreeing on one (important) issue.
I have a friend who doesn’t believe in vaccines, whereas I do. We took a hiatus during the pandemic because we didn’t agree on anything. But we’re friends again because that’s no longer an issue to discuss or argue over.
Help your family move forward.