When I grew up a handshake was a sign of greeting and it also sealed a goodbye. Of course, in more personal situations, a hug or a peck on the cheek worked as well! Business agreements were consummated with a handshake and nothing more was required. Your word was your bond and the handshake completed the transaction.
We did not get to holiday much as kids but we have been fortunate in our adult life to travel a good part of Canada, the United States and parts of Europe. We have become accustomed to planning a holiday and going away without any issues.
Covid 19 has changed both the handshake and the holiday. They have been stolen from us – at least for now.
Will we return to the past or are we changed forever?
Will future generations know the power of a handshake or the thrill of planning and going on a distant holiday?
The handshake correctly went away early with the onslaught of Covid. The threat of virus transmission was just too much to risk and the replacement with an elbow bump just feels awkward. Time may create normality for the elbow bump but can anything replace a human touch? The handshake was a sign of peace and welcoming that will be hard to replace.
We were in Hawaii in March 2020 when Covid accelerated in the United States and Canada. It almost felt unbelievable how fast things were changing and how little our government health advisors actually knew about what was going on. By the time we got home things were rapidly changing and we were in self quarantine for 14 days. It would be almost three months before we would enter a restaurant again.
In March and April we hoped things would start taking shape and return to normal by summer. We were wrong. It is now late August and more questions remain than we have answers for.
International, national and even regional travel ended by March 2020. We were a country locked down and it was hard to disagree with these decisions. Holiday travel of any kind was put on hold.
So what is the holiday outlook now?
We postponed a September 2020 holiday to Ireland and Scotland for one year and our fall Las Vegas trip is just about extinct. We are not particularly hopeful for a winter holiday as the United States is having a difficult time getting Covid under control. After adjusting for population, the United States is still running at 10 times the daily Covid cases as compared to Canada.
This summer has been very different as all community events and sporting events have been shuttered. As we move into the colder weather of fall and winter, I expect Canadians will be anxious to get away for a warm holiday and it is not looking good right now.
For us and some of our travelling friends, it may take an approved vaccine before we venture out for travel to the United States and Europe. This vaccine is unlikely to be available until the summer of 2021.
We miss the travel, the food and the people you meet along the way – the Beer Haus in Las Vegas, a bowl of goulash in Budapest, the canals of Amsterdam, the beauty of Indian Shores in Florida and the warm winter beaches in Hawaii.
We don’t feel hard done by because we are healthy and enjoy the best of what life has to offer with our boys close by.
It’s just on many days, I could use a good handshake and a holiday.
My second cup is now empty…………………..
