Hello Wonderful People,
I hope you are staying safe and are well on this snowy Sunday afternoon.
My wife and I are dealing with many emotions about what is going on in the world today.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the world to come to a sudden halt. In an attempt to curtail the spread of the virus, extreme measures have been implemented by government agencies – canceling social gatherings, working from home, and shutting down non-essential businesses. While we understand the severity of the pandemic and agree with the measures put into place to flatten the curve, we are also extremely disappointed because we could not take our vacation that we have dreamed of for more than ten years.
For the next two weeks, we were supposed to be seeing the Best of Italy: Rome, Florence, and Venice; touring the island of Capri, staying in a convent in Assisi, shopping in Milan, experiencing the ruins of Pompeii; with visits to the Vatican, the Colisseum, Romeo and Juliet’s balcony, and even a side trip to Lugano, Switzerland.
We celebrated our 20th anniversary back in September and this trip was meant to be a present to each other. Italy has been tops on our list of places to visit for many years. We are fascinated by the country’s history and culture. The art, the architecture, the food, the people. It doesn’t get much better than Italy. We love Italy so much that we gave our dogs Italian names … Gio the Beagle (short for Giovanni), Vinny the Collie (short for Vincenzo) and Seppe the Beagle (short for Giuseppe).
While we had many wonderful vacations in the past – Colorado, Utah, Canada, and the Caribbean – an Italian vacation has been on minds all the while. However, finding the right package, at the right price with the right places to visit proved to be a difficult task. We started putting extra money into the savings with the intent of an Italian getaway. After extensive research and exploring endless options of tour packages, we found a trip that would be a perfect 20th-anniversary present for each other.
Originally, we were supposed to be traveling during Thanksgiving. We decided for November instead of September because the price is dramatically less, there are fewer travelers, and the temperatures are a bit on the cooler side. Unfortunately, the tour company canceled that tour because not enough people had booked the tour for it to be confirmed. It turns out that November was not a good time to visit because the entire country was inundated with rain and Venice had the worst floods in fifty years. We were forced to select a new date for departure. We selected March 22 because the price of the new trip was the same as original and the weather was ideal for traveling.
But alas, that trip too was canceled because, well, you know the reason. The COVID-19 virus started in China and then spread quickly across the world. And sadly, Italy has been the hardest country, recording over 5,400 at the time of this writing. The number of cases increased from only three in late February to now at almost 60,000. The rate at which the number of cases grew caused the US government to recommend reschedule all unnecessary travel with an ultimate ban of travel to and from Europe. When these travel restrictions were put into place, we know that we were not going on our dream vacation.
Thankfully, our trip was canceled by the tour company, which means we are able to rebook with them for the same trip anytime this year or next year. Ideally, we would like to go this year; but with all that is happening with this virus and with the devastation in Italy, we think it will be too soon to go in September or November. We are looking at maybe March of next year. This would give the country time to recover and be ready to welcome guests.
One bit of irony, a broken arm could not stop us from going to Italy, but the COVID-19 did. On February 13, I fell on the ice going into work, breaking my left humerus bone, just below my shoulder.
In the Emergency Room, finding out that I had a broken arm.
For the first week, there was a bit uncertainty about whether I would be able to go on the trip. My doctor needed a follow-up CT-scan to view the break and to ensure that it was not too serve and determine if surgery was needed. When he viewed the CT-scan, he said that the bone could heal on its own just fine and surgery was not needed. Knowing that our trip was only a month away, I asked the doctor if it was okay to travel. He gave his approval because by that time the bone would have healed enough not to hinder travel. I was elated as if I could jump for joy, I would have. But sadly, in only two weeks the trip was canceled. Our roller coaster of emotions has been up and down, up and down during the last six weeks.
I must say this, we are not in fear because we are standing on the Word of God and are rooted in our faith. We believe that we need to keep up to date on what is happening, but we don’t let the news consume us and cause us to be afraid. We ask God for His wisdom as we go through this time. It is important to call on Him and ask for His peace to be in your life as well. He will never leave you in your time of need. We recommend reading Psalm 91 and Ephesians 6:10-20 every day to help counteract the fear and the anxiety that the world is showing right now.
Follow!