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| Nanoose Bay Estuary as seen from the Notch |
June was the month of birthdays. It was also the month that we gradually began to see people socially again, although still with caution.
We are very lucky that we live in British Columbia, Canada. Under the wise leadership of our Public Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry and Provincial Minister of Health, Adrian Dix, BC has done an excellent job of flattening the curve. I also give credit to British Columbians, who tend to be socially aware and community-minded. (That's one reason I like living here.)
Therefore the province was able to begin phase-three reopening at the end of May. That meant restaurants, retail stores, and shopping malls began to reopen. They were followed by dentists, hair salons, and other personal services. Now pubs are starting to open up again, as is the film industry. In order to open, businesses must have a plan for how to maintain physical distancing, and strict hygiene protocols. Although masks are not required in BC, they are recommended in indoor spaces if physical distancing isn't possible.
On June 1, there were 2,597 novel corona virus cases in total in BC, and about 10 new cases per day being reported. On Friday, July 3, the most recent day for which stats have been reported, there were 13 new cases, and 2,947 total cases in BC. Since May 22, there have been only 5 new cases on Vancouver Island.
We began to gradually form a bubble with my daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons. At first, I spent time with my grandsons only outdoors. But gradually we began to see them at their house and ours.
In early June, we celebrated my son-in-law's birthday at their house (carefully, using lots of hand sanitizer).
A couple of days later, my
middle daughter came over from Vancouver and spent her birthday with us
and visited for several days. She had been self-isolating in her small
apartment, and we hadn't seen her since early February.
It was so great to be together again. We hosted a small family birthday dinner for her (seven of us in total). It was the first time my older daughter and her family had been in our house since before the COVID restrictions.
Later in June, my son had a birthday. He, too, came over to the Island and spent it with us. He and I went on a cave tour at Horne Lake Caves. There are more caves on Vancouver Island than in the rest of Canada combined -- more than 1,600 of them!
My older grandson rounded out the month of birthdays by celebrating his eighth birthday at the end of June. We went over their place and enjoyed ice cream cake on their deck.
We also hosted two other gatherings at our place, in both cases outdoors on our deck. We hosted the AGM and annual barbecue of our service club (15 in total) the last week of June (by some miracle the rain stopped for one day). The deck is large enough that we were all able to maintain a safe distance. And on July 2, I hosted a small writers' group meeting on the deck.
It has been a cool rainy month, but we have also gone for lots of walks and hikes.
Next plan -- camping!
Oooh, I am looking forward to seeing you post about camping on the Island!
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Jude :-)
Deb
Thanks Deb! I’m really pumped about it. We haven’t gone camping since last August, when we did two loops of the Island — a southern loop and then a northern loop. There is so much to explore here.
DeleteJude
Hi Jude, Such a nice month of June you had with birthday celebrations and social gatherings. Keep on having fun with camping. I look forward to following along.
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie. June turned out to be a busy month, despite so many events having been cancelled. We felt fortunate to be able to spend several birthday celebrations with our family members — something not really possible a month earlier.
DeleteJude
What a fun month! Lovely to be able to celebrate birthdays with family.
ReplyDeleteHi Anabel. Yes, it did feel extra special to celebrate birthdays with family members after having gone through long months with little social interaction.
DeleteJude
So nice you were able to be together during all those birthdays. And, to have a comfortable house and deck to host parties. :-) Sorry to read the weather hasn’t been ideal, but maybe the sun is waiting until you go camping!
ReplyDeleteThings are a bit behind where we are, in Massachusetts. No bars open yet and slowly, doctor’s practices are opening up again and indoor dining is possible. I have a physical scheduled in ten days and hope the physician can actually see and check me in person... As far as hitting the road again, who knows?
Hi Liesbet. It might sound as though we are being complete social butterflies, but actually, we are still being quite cautious. We haven’t been to have our hair cut, or to see our physicians (though we both have had telephone consultations), and we postponed our dental checkups until the fall. That is why celebrating family birthdays last month seemed so special. It was a big change from the reduced social interactions we have all been living with the last few months.
DeleteI’m glad to hear that you have finally managed to get an appointment with your physician. It would be so frustrating to spend months in MA and yet not be able to get your regular business there done.
Jude
It was a major event for us too when we were able to let family back into our ‘safety bubble’. There is now a ‘new’ normal ... which isn’t really ‘normal’ at all.
ReplyDeleteI think these past several months have made us all very appreciative of what we value most, and family ranks at the top of that list.
Joanne, that’s it exactly. If there’s any silver lining in this pandemic experience, it’s realizing what really matters — and what doesn’t.
DeleteJude
Jude, You and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to how special our relationship is with our family. As you know, we did the same as you with initially forming our bubble and visiting outside only. I am still in awe of you spelunking. 🙂 Not my idea of fun. We opted out of our yearly Gordon Bay, Cowichan Lake Summer camping trip. We had to make a decision a couple of months ago, and it did not feel right. We still have our Long Beach camping trip in September. A highlight for us. I look forward to seeing you soon.🙂
ReplyDeleteHi Erica. Sorry I had to miss seeing everyone this week. It’s always a highlight. We have kept most of our get-togethers outdoors, except for the birthday celebrations I wrote about in this post. Staying apart from friends and family has been hard, but we have been very creative in finding ways to see each other while still maintaining physical distancing. However, we did take some risks in June: having my daughter and then two weeks later my son stay with us; picking up my son from the ferry in my car; driving my grandson in my car. Once we expanded our bubble, I even got a hug from each of my three kids, and it felt so good.
DeleteI’m glad to hear that you’re still planning to do your annual Long Beach camping trip!
Jude
You have a beautful family, Jude.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am incredibly grateful to live on Vancouver Island. Now, more than ever!
Aww, thanks Donna. I do love it here on Vancouver Island. The people are wonderful, and there are so many cool places to explore.
DeleteJude
As you are likely aware, Arizona closed down too late and opened too soon. We are now paying the price with one of the most rapid increase in cases anywhere in the world. There is pressure to close some things back down again. But, the Governor is a believer in the voodoo of Trump, so who knows.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, our family all live within 10 minutes of each other. So, we have been able to (legally) gather every Sunday for family games and dinner ever since the problems began. As your pictures vividly show, there is no better way to lift the covid blues than to be with family.
Bob, I’m sorry that your state has been so hard hit. It must be terribly frustrating as you observe the state leadership make decisions that fly in the face of public health recommendations, followed by a predictable increase in rising cases and deaths. At a time when the USA most needs wise leadership, instead you have the craziness of Trump.
DeleteOf course, our experience with COVID here in Canada has varied from province to province with Quebec and Ontario being hard hit, primarily because of very poor management and oversight of nursing homes. Also, in both those provinces, the Provincial leadership was a little slower to take the threat of the novel corona virus seriously. Whereas here in BC, our provincial government deferred to the guidance of our Public Health Officer, communicated frequently and clearly, and moved quickly to take steps to safeguard people in long term care settings. And fortunately, our Prime Minister has provided consistent messaging informed by public health experts, and stepped in early with financial support to help Canadians who were out of work as the economy closed down.
For six weeks, we did not get together as a family at all, relying on phone calls and videoconferencing to keep in touch. My grandson’s birthday at the end of April was the first time we gathered, and then in May we began seeing each other again, but mostly outdoors. Soon that is why getting together as a family to celebrate birthdays in June was so special. This experience certainly has shown me what is most important in life.
Jude
It looks lovely. We are backo on full masks today and groups of ten, and while restaurants are still serving outside many other groups are closed. our social life has been going to brother and sister in law and sitting on oppiste sides of the large patio. texas is like Arizona, although I expect that my son in law and daughter will enter my bubble, even as they both work outside the home. we shall see.
ReplyDeleteBarb, thanks for your comment. For a long time, we didn’t see my daughter and her family socially because my son-in-law is an essential service worker who works outside the home (although he’s worked at home when possible too), and also because my grandsons play outside with the children in their neighbourhood. Fortunately, the infection rates are extremely low in BC, which is why we have been able to gradually expand our contacts, and do more things socially. Also, because it’s summertime, we can meet outdoors and maintain distance, which is safer than getting together indoors.
DeleteJude