In repose, I find myself contemplating the collective vision of love that aspires to conquer all. How can we empower such collective vitality when we are nearly prevented from honoring love in gatherings? How has everything not fallen apart, or is that still something we should be watching the horizon for? In jest, my brother and I refer to the beauty of marriage ceremonies in present times as, ‘apocalypse weddings’.
Recently for his own apocalypse wedding, our two expanding families depended on uniting our comfort levels to join more people safely than many of us have been around lately. Get together or be apart, that is the choice. COVID-19 is not going anywhere. Deep down we all know it, it's that simple, but we need not be complacent about that fact.
Ten months into a global pandemic, everyone’s accumulated memories are becoming adaptations to living with a deadly and perplexing disease in our midst. Everywhere we go people are doing things to stay safe, or not. For the former we can at least feel good, and that is how we moved forward as responsibly as possible doing our best.
From the photo, we cannot see all the lengths this couple went to in mitigating the risks to having a wedding during this pandemic, but I know they were extensive being that I’m the groom’s brother. I’m sure you can imagine the stress of that endeavor being planned over every month of the pandemic and the looming future of uncertainty. A labor of love to be sure. We know this because the institution of marriage and family relationships are feeling the strain all over the country.
Rare as gatherings might be, perhaps you have been to similar events this year, they are a test and a gamble. I can tell you from everything put into this ceremony, the memory was worth the coordination to make it possible. The couple put their love on display before and after their monumental milestone, and it was inspiring.
As I reflect on the world around us, certain events have been successful at implementing measures to minimize transmission and some have accepted social responsibility, simultaneously. The two must be adopted in tandem; I pondered this wondering what the reception might get, considering all these folks gathered around.
Obviously, everyone would inevitably have to wait to see if all the organization paid off. What struck me most, watching as children played in the fresh cut grass and evening light as music rang out from the pastoral barnyard setting, was that I treasured this encapsulation. This wedding had gained a potent air of normalcy. Participants and the audience alike were in awe of a bubble seemingly outside the reach of the coronavirus.
The one real scare came some time before the wedding when my brother’s coronavirus test came back positive. The test really put everything in perspective leading up to their date. Powerful realizations hit home; I was grateful to see my brother happy and healthy. Additionally, there is no sense of victory over the virus while other people are out there dying from it.
All we could do was jab at him that he was probably the safest person there, being relatively immune. What else could you do with it being challenging to understand because his contraction came out of nowhere for him. He never would have known that he had carried the virus. Other than remarks about seasonal allergies he had been totally asymptomatic. He just took his test in advance of the wedding as part of the precautions.
His fiancé, now wife, never contracted the virus from him in spite of its infectiousness. According to the prevailing medical expertise who met with my brother, leading up to the wedding, his immune system was able to fight the virus on its own and shed it with no apparent effects. Experts were basically saying that they were both lucky, but also resounding that, ten months into the pandemic there is still so much we don’t know about the virus.
To me, looking back holds new meaningfulness of, ‘in sickness and in health’ as more than a solemn promise between lovers, it is a vow for one and all. Whatever you do, do it with others in mind. Even a modicum of consideration makes all the difference against the virus.
Pedro Palacios was born and raised in southern New Mexico. This is his graduating semester with the New Mexico State University English Department.
You all have done some very interesting stuff this semester with DIN: Congratulations! The 1918 Flu pandemic, of course, has been getting a lot of airplay due to the 2020 Covid19 pandemic (the 1918 Flu pandemic killed an estimated 50 million persons). Research shows the 1918 Flu probably originated in the USA or Great Britain, and that it spread rampantly among Allied soldiers during WWI, who already were living a hellish nightmare in the trenches, all for nothing really. Because Spain was neutral during WWI, the 1918 Flu was front page news in Spain, hence the misnamed "Spanish Flu." Allied military commanders, of course, did not want it discussed (not be good for morale, and what could they do about…