“Judgment is mine, sayeth the Lord.”
“Judge not, lest ye be judged.”
“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
These and other non-Biblical adages (God helps those who help themselves) have been ringing in my ears over the past several weeks as our Cancun vacation dates drew nearer.
A year ago at this time, while the pandemic was still raging and vaccines were not yet widely available, I scoffed (thankfully not out loud) at friends and family who dared to travel.
What were they thinking? Did they want to die? Did they want to bring the germs back to their loved ones? Shame on them.
Well … shame on me for shaming them.
As this edition of the Star Herald reaches readers, Matt and I will be (hopefully) on a flight back to the states after a long-awaited beach getaway.
We dared to book the trip in May 2021, assuming by February 2022 the ‘rona would be in our rearview mirrors.
We dutifully rolled up our sleeves for the first and second rounds of vaccine, and when the booster was recommended, we did that too.
But then, the ‘rona mutated.
Geographic “hot spots” for new outbreaks popped up all over the globe.
And, one week before our scheduled departure, the CDC declared Mexico a “very high travel risk” due to COVID-19 risk.
Sigh.
The excuses were plenty.
“We’re fully vaccinated.”
“We’ll wear our masks.”
And, the excuse likely echoed by last year’s travelers, “But we booked this trip long before we knew what the risks would be.”
Canceling the trip would be responsible, but personally tragic.
Meanwhile, my ever-cautious and reasonable husband followed the headlines about cartel violence near Cancun’s luxury all-inclusive resorts.
“Do you suppose personal assault rifles are included for guests at our resort?” he jested.
This concern was met by more rationalizing by the trip planner in the household: “Those were targeted hits on resort workers who bought cocaine for tourists from a rival gang. … Only one American tourist was injured.”
And so, against our better judgment, we packed our bags, secured our masks on our faces and boarded a plane (which was likely packed with individuals carrying the deadly virus.)
If my byline appears in next week’s paper, you’ll know we survived.
And, if you’re judging our poor travel judgment, that’s fair, if not karma.
“Judge not, lest ye be judged.”