The Coronacation Diaries, Episode 74

To Go or Not to Go...That is the Question

After 74 days of blogging about the this pandemic, about how my family and I have been dealing with it all, and throwing shade on protesters and party-goers and hair-cutters and vacationers, my family and I have suddenly been faced with a tough decision to make: do we drive to Florida to help my dad?

It hasn't been an easy decision. We've debated the safety of the trip, the necessity of the trip, and even the legality of the trip. But here is what we know: taking care of a family member trumps the inherent dangers of the trip. We are healthy, we have been following quarantine instructions fairly closely, and we know what precautions to take, to protect ourselves and others. We have masks, we have hand sanitizer, we have Lysol and Clorox wipes (for wiping down surfaces, not for injections), we have a bag of food and water in the car, and travel bans have been lifted. And we need to go down and take care of a man we love deeply; we need to be there for him and for us; we need to do this.

We won't be visiting Disney, or Dollywood, or a beach. We won't be eating in restaurants along the way. We won't stop at a Hard Rock Cafe; we won't check out the state parks. We will do our very best to keep ourselves safe, and to protect those we come in contact with.

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I don't know if this makes me a hypocrite or not, after I've spend a decent portion of the last 74 days mocking the protesters who can't handle it when a woman says no. But I do know the difference between a pleasure trip and a necessary trip, and I firmly believe this falls into the latter category. At the same time, I also have to admit that getting the hell out of dodge, even if it means we've just transferred that claustrophobic hell to the 4 walls of my Jeep for a 40-hour drive, is kind of enticing. Seeing something --anything-- other than the tree in my front yard sounds amazing right about now.

So, tomorrow, it's road trip time. I'll keep writing over the next few days, as we drive through several states, and I will continue to think about and process what we are doing, what other states are doing, and what it means to take care of ourselves, our communities, complete strangers, and the people we love the most.

To go or not to go? In my mind, there is no question.