Happy Thanksgiving my friends.  I hope all is well in your part of the world.

We’ve made 10 pounds of Lefsa, 10 pounds of mashed potatoes, 5 pounds of sweet potatoes, two batches of my mom’s famous fruit salad, rutabagas, today’s turkey is in the oven, Saturday’s turkey is thawing in the cooler.  I’ve purchased to-go containers to send the food off for those that are willing to eat our cooking. 

I’d like to say we are doing our part to stop the spread….we are not 100% buying it all hook, line and sinker, but we are doing our part as best we can and what works for our family. 

We recently seen on the news that Brittan is going to be allowing a modified version of the social distancing for Christmas– allowing three bubbles to merge – three households can get together.  Why is it they can do it for Christmas but not for Thanksgiving?

Have we chatted about herd immunity?  Have we chatted about those that have already had it – before we even knew what it was in January?  I’ve heard that those that have already had it are immune to it for at least 8 months or longer-why is that not being addressed?  Why are we not looking at those people’s blood and learning more that way?  I know we have looked at people that have had confirmed cases, but what about those that the doctor says “yeah, you probably had it….”, why not do some studies on that?

I’m not doubting the existence, nor am I doubting the severity of it – but why aren’t we talking about where it came from, how it got here, how it’s mutated and what’s going to happen when staying home and in lock down does more harm than good?  I’m not saying that those that have died are not important, it’s a horrible thing to lose a loved one, but it happens, it’s going to continue to happen even if we do vaccinate against it.  We are human, we do not live forever, terrible tragic things happen – nobody is getting out of here alive – it sucks…but it is the truth.

It used to be so much more the truth than it is now—the families that would have 10 babies, with only 7 surviving to their first birthday, maybe only 5 until their 12^th birthday – there was even a time where “getting rid” of a child up until it’s 12^th birthday was acceptable- it was a fact of life that was accepted, but for some reasons humans forget – we are only here for 70-80 very short years.  I’m not saying we should be careless, but we should be considering the unintended consequences of what is currently happening in the world today. 

About 154,000 people die a year of lung cancer – that could or could not be directly linked to smoking – but where is the ban on tobacco usage – that could have saved my dad’s life – why wasn’t that been banned a long time ago? There is nothing good about tobacco use….

Car accidents….one site says 1.3 million people die each year in road crashes….are we stopping people from buying fast cars….are we preventing people from driving? How did we start deciding how people were going to die?

I’ve seen that the local health department has warned that pregnant woman are at a higher risk, and they should indeed take extra precautions, but my daughters doctor refuses to sign a paper that advises her to stay home instead of going to work. 

Where do we draw the line?  We can grocery shop, shop for clothes, buy cannabis, buy a car, go to the bank…all of this, but not have family dinner?  Exposing ourselves to who knows what when out and about, but not share a meal with the most important people in our lives – the people who make living worthwhile?   

It’s the unknown and wanting to protect all human life no matter the cost of quality of life – it certainly comes down to quality for me and my family, not quantity.  You don’t win a prize for being the oldest – certainly when you are sitting alone in a nursing home waiting for the day for the Lord to take you home, only being sustained by drugs and an IV.  It certainly is a tricky line that each person should be able to walk on their own terms. 

I honestly hope that as you read this you are living your best life, the way you see fit, the way you believe it should be lived.  I honestly hope you are in lock down because you want to be, not that you are following a fad, not that you are following the virtue signalers, not that you fear for the backlash from those that disagree with you but because you believe you are living your best life.  I honestly hope that you believe it with all your heart, and I hope you are right. 

However you are spending your day today, I hope it is enjoyable, peaceful and settles on your heart and mind in a way that makes you feel happy.  Let’s hope a vaccine will come along, and ease some of those concerns for those people who need it most.  Until next time my friends, hugs to you.