I remember going to a family gathering a few years ago, and with all the great memories we made, we also got sick. It was Christmas, and my sister brought her three kids to our annual potluck dinner that no one wanted to miss because we’d been doing it since we were kids — even though she wasn't feeling well.
“I didn’t want to just stay home on Christmas, I wanted to see everyone,” she said as she sat under a blanket with a greenish tint to her skin.
Then, her 3-year-old son, who had recently gotten over the stomach bug she was currently battling, sneezed in the taco dip. I didn’t see it, but my husband did — and he wasn’t too happy about it. On the way home, he went on and on about how he was sick of people in my family showing up for these large gatherings and being sick.
He was right
It's happened a lot, and since I never really got sick, and I loved my family time with my sisters so much, I was in denial about how rude and disrespectful it actually was.
He’s a business owner who rarely took time off, and he’d decided to take that week off to enjoy the kids’ winter break with them. Well, until we all got so sick that no one was enjoying anything.
We decided that was it. From now on, before getting together with my family or anyone for that matter, we wouldn’t feel bad about asking if anyone was, or had been, sick. This was something that always made me feel uncomfortable until I realized I shouldn’t feel bad about asking people we are coming in close contact with if they’d been under the weather. They should feel bad about going to an event and exposing everyone.
And this was all pre-pandemic
I think COVID-19 has taught us a lot: We know how precious life is, we know you can predict nothing, and people are finally waking up to the idea that if you're infected — even if you don’t know it — the impacts reach far and wide. This virus has made us see how much one person can spread their germs. Look at the wedding in Maine where one sick person showed up and caused a chain reaction that resulted in 178 people becoming infected — seven of whom tragically died.
We can only hope nothing like this ever happens again. But when this winds down, I really hope people are more mindful than they were pre-COVID. And even if they have a case of diarrhea or a sore throat, they know they need to stay home, because viruses affect everyone differently.
We should all see now that there needs to be more sick days and flexibility in the workplace for people to be able to stay at home when they or their children are ill, so we don’t end up getting worse and spreading whatever we have to other people.
And for the love of god, if you're sick, don’t go shopping
Don’t go out to eat. Don’t try and rally to make it to that party. If your kid has a low temperature and a runny nose, keep them home, as inconvenient as it may be. Think of others — not just yourself — and realize that if you do go out and dismiss your symptoms, you could very well be infecting someone else who may not recover as easily as you can.
So when the day comes that this virus isn’t an issue anymore, if you aren't feeling well, stay the hell home. There are enough resources out there now, like online shopping, curbside pickup, and Zoom, so we don’t totally miss out on everything.
I think most of us have come to a place where we realize that when we're sick and contagious, going out in public is a lot bigger than just getting some fresh air or meeting a work deadline — and I hope that's something we never forget after all of this.
