Christmas in Brooklyn entering the third plague year.

On the morning of December 23 we arrived at O’Hare at six in the morning, timed to get to baggage check before the holiday crowds.

Our scheduled departure was at ten.

Since our first vaccinations and then our booster, we have opened up little by little for some for travel.

Mostly to see our family in Brooklyn.

Always by car.

Then in the Fall we spent a few days out of the city for solitude in the woods of northern Wisconsin.

This holiday is my first travel by plane since the pandemic began in the early days of 2020.

New York is a hot spot for Omicron right now.

There are lines for Covid testing stretching down 7th in Park Slope ih Brooklyn.

We are healthy 73.

But we are aware of the increase in risk for those our age.

There is a lot to consider.

We are concerned with our own well being and with the health of others.

In taking this trip we increased the mitigation.

More and frequent testing. N95 masks. No dining out. No places where there are big crowds.

No MoMA. No Rockefeller Center.

We shared a beautiful ham, twice-baked potatoes and green beans with family and one friend on Christmas eve.

A dessert. A bouche noel created by our granddaughter. Classic meringue mushrooms.

The same group re-assembled for Christmas dinner.

Moo shu pork, egg rolls and soup dumplings delivered.

I knew this was not fool-proof. We know of plenty of folks who have practiced all the mitigation, all the shots and booster, wear the mask and still got the virus.

But we all decided that spending this holiday, using care and available mitigation, with all our kids and grandkids, together, was worth the risks.

We will test again when we get home in a few days.