Life recently felt more like “normal”, even as we played fast and loose with our health. Roadtripping during COVID can be anxiety inducing.
Or not.
We chose not.
Roadtrippin’…
✅ Florida
✅ Georgia
✅ Tennessee
✅ Kentucky
✅ Indiana
✅ Illinois
✅ Wisconsin
And back again. All in the span of a week. It’s an 18 hour drive to Illinois, then another few hours up to our oldest son’s house in Wisconsin. We split it up, taking two days to travel from Florida to Illinois, where we stayed with my sister-in-law and her family. The next day, we drove to our son’s first home so he could show off his adulting skills.
After an overnight with him, it was back to Illinois to spend time with our younger son, family, and dear friends. All in all, we spent 3-½ days up north and 3-½ days driving.
I’m a little worn out!
But it was worth it.
There were birthdays to celebrate and hearts needing the comfort of seeing each other. 💖
To be anxious or not…
I’d been a little anxious about this journey. It was the first time I’d left the house for an extended period since March. I felt socially awkward, like I’d forgotten how to people.
I had some concern about traveling during a pandemic.
Would hotels really be clean?
What if we, or one of our family members, were asymptomatic?
What about gas station bathrooms? They’re never spotless during the best of times; would they be hotbeds of virus now?
These and other questions spun through my brain even as we drove north. Even as we stopped to fuel up the car and the “natives” gave us the side-eye for wearing a mask.
But then I realized something…
It’s okay to be a little nervous. Everything carries risk.
We’re not afraid of the virus, but we don’t want to get it either, or give it to someone else. Roadtripping felt a little like upping the ante on that risk.
While traveling during a pandemic may carry more risk than at non-pandemic times, it’s still a matter of finding your unique level of comfort with that risk, just like you would with anything that feels risky.
After all, the magic happens when we step just outside our comfort zone. And the magic of reconnecting with family and a couple dear friends was so needed.
We were prepared with our face masks and a jug of hand sanitizer.
Sitting in a car for 18 hours is a textbook definition of socially distant.
We practiced caution over recklessness at every stop, chuckling a little at the side-eye, knowing that everyone has their own way of seeing the world and the current situation.
So I made a decision…
I could choose to continue feeling anxious or I could choose to enjoy the journey.
I chose joy.
Everything else is fear.
With joy and ease…
Life is about choices. We can choose fear or we can choose joy, even when the world feels upside down and sideways.
Especially when the world feels upside down and sideways.
Which do you choose?
If you need some support around choosing joy over fear, drop me a note at hilaryclarkstudios@gmail.com and we’ll set up time to chat.
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