WST for today is “Too Many People.” Today is Super Bowl Sunday. For many years we were in the habit of going to our friend’s house to watch the game. Or, I should say, my husband went to watch the game. I went to visit but, honestly, being the introvert I am, mostly I just sat on the couch and worked on some craft project I brought with me. Rude? I wasn’t trying to be and I did engage in conversation of course. If the half-time show was worth watching I got into that. There was lots of pot luck food and drinks as you can imagine but that’s another reason I would bring crafty stuff to do so I wouldn’t sit and eat all day.
As you can guess, the last two years there has been no Super Bowl party. Also as you can guess that didn’t really bother me at all. My hubby would still watch the game but I’d be happily crafting in the studio. This year our friends decided to have a small gathering, maybe 15 people, to watch the game. My husband is all for it. I am still thinking that is too many people. It truly would be nice to see our friends and actually converse with someone who doesn’t live in my house but I just think it’s a bit too soon. Maybe it’s because our son just had a bout with the virus and he’s been vaccinated. Another vaccinated friend my husband saw recently got it as well. I just want to minimize my exposure for a little while longer.
And then there’s the complicated (to my way of thinking) idea of, do I ask if everyone who is coming has been vaccinated/boostered? Do I just trust that our friends are as proactive about protection as we are? Do we wear masks in the house just in case? It is all too much for me to want to deal with, especially because I don’t care about the teams playing and the half-time show of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog and Eminem really, really does not interest me in the least. It is easier for me to say, “Go ahead, honey, have a good time. Stay safe. Say hello to everyone for me,” as I head out to the studio. The ONLY thing that I am remotely interested in is the score. Not as in which team is winning but as in do those numbers match the squares on the football pools we have?
Thoughts? Are 15 people still too many people? Is watching a game that you have no interest in worth the risk of exposure to the virus? Would you go just to make your husband happy yet be miserable the whole time? Tell me!
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Hi, Janet!
ReplyDeleteThis is an important subject, dear friend, and I am pleased that you are exploring it. The pandemic and the constantly emerging variants are keeping our society off balance, uncertain and frustrated, resulting in many awkward and difficult decisions with regard to social gatherings among family and/or friends. In my community, it's very easy to take a straw poll and know how people voted in the last election and are likely to vote in the next. You can tell in an instant by whether or not they are wearing a mask. I am getting increasingly worried about being wrestled to the ground for entering stores and restaurants wearing a mask, because hardly anyone is wearing them around here, and those who do stand out like sore thumbs. That said, social events keep showing up on the calendar, and the last thing any of us want to do is to ruffle feathers of party guests by asking them to wear a mask, keep their distance and make them show their proof of vaccination cards. Mrs. Shady and I hosted a Christmas party at our house and there were only ten people in attendance. However, the ten included our grandson's new girlfriend whom we had never met before. We all sat maskless around the dining room table. It's like playing Russian Roulette, isn't it? You can never be absolutely sure and, at my age, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Given the fact that the Super Bowl and this year's halftime show are of little or no interest to you, I think you have every right to stay home and work in your studio, rather than be subjected to an experience that would surely be unpleasant for you and possibly dangerous. 15 people is a large gathering, and how do you know for sure where any of the guests have been in recent days? Any one of them might have been exposed and could be carriers of the virus.
Whatever your decide to do, I wish you a safe, healthy and happy week ahead, dear friend Janet!
Dear Shady, thanks for your input. I totally agree with the Russian Roulette scenario. It's not just our friends but their friends. And since we know that even vaccinated people can get the virus now, even a mild case would disrupt the family if it was me who was the sick one. How would they possibly manage without me? LOL
DeleteI just had a moment to read your post. It has been nerve wracking - whether to go places or whether to stay home. We've been mask wearers but they are no longer required in most places we go. We are also triple vaccinated. I'm actually to the point that I'm ready to live life again. We went to a neighbor's house for dinner last night and there were 9 of us. I have no idea whether the people were vaccinated or not. I would love to hear what you decided about last night. Hope you felt good about your decision whatever it was.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Lisa. I stayed home and worked in my studio. I got some cards made and listened to some music. I am not sorry about staying home although I did miss seeing this particular group of friends and my husband said they were sorry I wasn't there.
DeleteHi, Janet - This is such a great question - and one to which the answer won't be the same for everyone. We went to a very small Superbowl Gathering yesterday, with 6 friends + ourselves. The 6 friends have been in our 'bubble' all the way through this pandemic and are each triple vaccinated. I believe it is all about waying the risks and then determining which risks we are comfortable in accepting. This was an easy risk for me. If it had been a larger, less familiar group, I definitely would have declined.
ReplyDeleteYes, Donna, I agree that we each have to do what we are comfortable with. It may have been fine for me to go but I'm not sorry I didn't.
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