My partner and I live about 500 miles from our families. This leaves us in a position where we feel like two holiday trips in a month are too many, so we usually stay in Iowa on Thanksgiving and travel for Christmas. A death in the family – as well as, of course, COVID-19 – disrupted all that this year. So, we stayed home for Thanksgiving and we’re staying home for Christmas.

It’s kind of a bummer. Christmas hasn’t held any religious significance for me for years. Though I grew up Catholic, I’ve been non-religious for 20+ years. But Christmas held a different place in my life – checking in with family and with my hometown in Indiana. More generally, checking in with my history.

One of my favorite things to do over the Christmas holiday is just hopping in the car and driving around rural Indiana. This year, a part of me will even miss the inevitable December 23 airport snafus. On the plus side, staying at home is peaceful.

How are you handling COVID-19 related travel plans/delays/etc.?

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The effectiveness of masks? What a difference 7 months make! Back in the early days of COVID-19, evidence suggested homemade cloth masks probably don’t work. The CDC recommended against them. Now it seems like masks do everything. It’s a mask miracle.

Let’s take a look at this mask miracle.

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