Well, here's a how de do! Plans made for Christmas - and now changed. A bird ordered for Christmas Day, and now it's the wrong size. Bubbles negotiated and now abandoned. It's not fair!!!
This isn't the post I'd been planning all week which is totally appropriate because nothing that anyone has been planning all week will happen. Boris has spoke and now we're all stuck, and some of us are more stuck than others. I don't think it was a decision taken lightly and it's a decision which no-one wanted but it is necessary.
Overseas readers may not know that since yesterday we have new rules which mean that Christmas celebrations have to be very small (they weren't allowed to be big before yesterday but for some areas it's just one household now) and even in areas where we can meet it's just one day now, not the four days we had been planning. Travelling is out for some areas and severely discouraged for others.
Mary and Joseph too must have had very different plans for their whole lives but both of them set aside their personal preferences for the good of all because God had asked them too. They'd probably planned a quiet life in Nazareth pretty well the same sort of life as their parents and everybody else had. They would probably have been quite glad not to have travelled first to Bethlehem and then to Egypt.
But it was not to be. They had to go along with the divine plan and do what was necessary. They seem to have done what was needed and to have done it graciously.
If you have had to change your plans, I really wish you had been able just to carry on. The changes to my own plan are comparatively minor and my disappointment is correspondingly small. I hope, however, that you will still be richly blessed this Christmas. And if you are a carer or health worker, I thank you from the bottom of my heart that despite 67.000+ deaths, so many of us will still have some sort of a Christmas because of your heroic efforts. May God bless you.
Please stop the WHINING! I haven’t seen any of my family, including grandchildren since FEBRUARY. If everyone would cut way back on their contacts we’d be out of this much sooner. It’ll be two of us for Christmas. It is what it is...I’m tired of the selfish guts who insist on traveling at any cost for a meal and a gift....
ReplyDeleteI'm really sorry if you thought I was whining. For myself my Christmas Day was always going to be church then home for Christmas Day alone. I do, however, have sympathy for those who had made plans and have had to change them. Many have indeed been selfish but far more have made heroic sacrifices.
DeleteI am torn, of course I feel sorry for those who had made plans within the existing guidelines only to have things cancelled at the last minute. But I also understand Lynda's frustration with those who have selfishly ignored the protocols, meaning that this mess just keeps on going. I do feel sorry for you Brits as your rules seemed to have changed almost daily and also seemed to be very convoluted - at least to someone reading about them from across the pond.
ReplyDeleteToronto has been in "Grey" lockdown for the past 28 days and it will continue for another 28 starting tomorrow. Grey is the highest of the colour restrictions but another announcement is expected Monday and we expect further restrictions and they will extend further within the province. Really, the writing has been on the wall with the daily number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths rising constantly so I don't know how anyone can be "shocked". Students and teachers were told to take everything home with them when school broke on Friday and no one expects them to go back in-person until Jan. 18th and likely even longer.
I've already done all my shopping and aside from the occasional walk & taking the garbage out don' expect to go anywhere else before Jan. 3rd. Since I am single I am allowed one other person in my bubble - a friend lives in an apt. downstairs and we will spend Christmas together. It will be odd as, we've only walked outdoors or gone for the occasional drive in her car (masks on & windows open) so having someone come into my apt. for a meal after all this time will be strange for both of us.
Let's just get through 2020 as best we can and hope that we all get vaccinated as son as possible. All the best.
Yes, please! I want my vaccination but I don't really expect for at least a couple of months. The changing of the regulations has left a lot of Brits confused as well. As recently as Wednesday the government was steadfastly saying that a four day Christmas could go ahead but there were a lot of people saying that wasn't a good idea.
DeleteIn the US it's state by state, and I'm planning to keep ourselves to ourselves and mask if we can't. 2021 has to be better.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely Christmas, however it is spent.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think you were whining by the way (in contrast to the comment above) I understand what you were saying. To be honest, I think there is going to be a horrible time for the police this Christmas- when everyone is thanking all the health workers, I want to thank them as well as they have to deal with all the rule breakers who will no doubt be deeply unpleasant to them and they have to deal with the worst of humanity.
ReplyDeleteI really like what you said about Mary and Joseph having to change their plans and how you linked it to what we are going through. I watched the Hexham Abbey carol service live on Youtube tonight and saw my Mother in Law who was singing in the choir for the service- it was so lovely to be able to see the service and take part, even if we aren't allowed to go and spend our Christmas with her as planned (it was unlikely we were going to be able to because we are currently quarantining as my husband has Covid - our quarantine ends tomorrow but I'm not sure he was well enough yet to drive for 6 hours up the A1 on Thursday- on the plus side.
I agree with you: the police are going to be in for a very rough time and they do get forgotten when we talk about key workers. Thank you for the reminder.
DeleteZoom and YouTube have been real boons when it comes to worship: I've been watching a cousin who is rector of a church in the USA. Glad your quarantine will soon be over.
There have been times since March when I have felt sad and miserable but I'm over that now and thankful that there is light at the end of the tunnel with the promise of vaccines and of a possible return to a near-normal life again. Having isolated since March, I won't be rushing to go into crowded places, supermarkets, etc., but I do look forward to driving to quiet places and sitting admiring the views, reading my book, drinking coffee (taking my little burner and a supply of food and drink) and walking Benji, all of it away from the madding crowds. I suspect we might all appreciate those things we took for granted in the time before Covid - I know I will. Have a wonderful Christmas, Mary, with the hope that 2021 will be a much better year.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I feel that having stayed safe for so long, I don't want to risk anything at this stage. And like you, I'm already thinking where I can Go for days out where I still feel safe.
DeleteI for one did not think you were/are whining. It is what it is, and while things will be different, there is still love, joy, peace and hope.
ReplyDeleteActually anyone who lives in Canada actually has it much easier than many of you in the UK and I for one am thankful of that. Those here that are complaining about the "lockdowns" really do not know what a lockdown is.
God bless.
God bless.
To be honest, I have stayed in isolation whether or not we have been officially in lockdown. It has been, for the most part, a time of peace and tranquility for me. Enjoy your Christmas!
DeleteMerry Christmas my dear friend. I've only been by blogger a small bit this year but you have been dealing with this rotten lot with much grace if one were to ask me. I applaud you for being wise, responsible, and dealing with it all with a good head on your shoulders. This year hasn't been anything ordinary, or anything that anyone has hoped it would be. For sure plans have changed, and changed again, and then changed some more.
ReplyDeleteI could write pages on the subject but I'll just leave you with the small blurb above, and my hopes that however you celebrate I hope you're able to find pure joy in our Savior's birth and celebrate in your own way. You're awesome! Still love reading from you!!! Merry Christmas
(I heard zero whining coming from you)
Nothing can stop me from finding joy in our Saviour's birth! Enjoy your children at this special time.
DeleteAnd now the rules are changing again, and the Secretary of State hinted that there is still time for further Christmas restrictions to be imposed! Thank you for this post, I decided in November that we would not have any fixed plan and instead just roll with the punches and I'm glad we made that decision because I would have found it very difficult otherwise. As you point out, Mary and Joseph must have had plans, certainly hopes and dreams, which had to be cast aside, and they did that with grace. And I didn't think you were whining, either. x
ReplyDeleteThis year a local church inviting me to celebrate the Eucharist with them - the first time I have been to church since March! I shall spend the rest of the day alone.
DeleteI have fond memories of Christmas in Shropshire. My first Christmas after I was ordained priest I celebrated Midnight Mass at Shrewsbury Abbey, an enormous privilege. I was curate there at the time.
I do hope you enjoy a very Happy and Blessed Christmas. And keep safe :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Margaret. As I write this your Christmas is VERY close - I hope it is joyful and blessed.
DeleteWell said Mary, it may bot be the Christmas some people planned for but it's still Christmas.. Happy and Blessed Christmas and I pray 2021 will soon be the sort of year, where we can walk and meet with family and friends again. Stay safe.
ReplyDelete