I begin by wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving amidst the COVID-19 cloud we all find ourselves under. With the recent reintroduction of restrictions being imposed by Trenton, it is clear that our new norm is continuing to evolve. For most of us, that translates into a Thanksgiving Day celebration that is … different. But we have proven we can adapt, right? What does your different Thanksgiving look like?
During this pandemic, we have attempted to keep you connected to keep you informed. That’s the intent of my weekly email updates – to give you information on the trends of the virus, backed up by the data, and notify you of important news coming out of Trenton or Washington, D.C. If you are not on that voluntary email list, take a minute to sign up for it. Google “Mullica Hill Connect” or go directly to the homepage at www.mullicahillconnect.com and join the more than 3,500 (and growing monthly) others who receive my weekly COVID-19 Updates, which I’ve been writing since mid-March.
I look forward to the day when I will no longer need to provide that information to you. Then you can just enjoy the original reason we created Mullica Hill Connect a few years ago, which was to provide you with our weekly Happening in the Hill email. As the title implies, this communication tells you about everything happening in the community so you can make plans in advance. And there’s always a lot happening! In signing up, you are asked to provide your email address and you’ll note that you can also provide your cell phone number. Understand that we only consider using the cell number to text you if there is an emergent need to convey something to you quickly; I believe we’ve only used it once since inception. But you’re not required to provide your cell number to sign up for the weekly emails.
I’ll reiterate what I said in my recent COVID-19 Update. It is crucial for each of us to take personal responsibility for our behavior at this juncture. This virus is highly contagious but we have the ability to limit the spread. Most importantly, we need to protect those people in our lives that may be more vulnerable than we are. I have a mother in her 80s who has severe respiratory issues. She lives locally, but I have to limit my exposure to her if I am in the presence of others based on my business or as mayor or because of social interactions. I’m in excellent health and feel I’d be fine, even if I contracted the virus. But I can’t put my mother at risk. Therefore, unless I have had no close contact with anyone over the most recent 10 days or so, I avoid physical interaction with her.
This Thanksgiving we will spend an hour or so with my parents sitting distanced around our fire pit outside enjoying a libation. Then we’ll send them off with turkey and all the trimmings to enjoy at their house. Different? Absolutely. But I want my Mom to be here next Thanksgiving.
