July 4, 2020 Celebration at Carrington Lakes
We've lived in Carrington Lakes for 4 years and July 4, 2020 was the first 4th of July we have celebrated in our subdivision. Usually we celebrate the 4th with our family in Gulf Shores, but the Covid-19 quarantine kept some of our family from work, so they had to work during the 4th.
We had seen pictures and heard about the Independence Day Celebration in our neighborhood and knew it would be fun. From what we've heard, this celebration started in one of our neighbor's backyard on one of the Carrington Lakes. Over the years, more and more people joined the celebration until it was moved to the Carrington Lakes Clubhouse. Now, people all throughout the neighborhood donate money for the event and the neighbor that began the whole celebration years ago, facilitates, manages, and DJs, the event. We are grateful to him for not only organizing our July 4th celebration, but many of the fun celebrations and activities that we enjoy in our neighborhood.
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In all honesty, I was skeptical about going to the celebration. Covid-19 cases were actually higher than they ever were and the numbers were only expected to rise. I was and still am very fearful of the kids getting this virus, so at first, we were not going to attend the celebration. Several things made me change my mind. First of all, we've been in lockdown since April. The kids had not seen their friends and other than hiking have not been out of the house since this started. I could tell that it was taking a toll. Then, a week before the celebration, I found out that school would be restarting on August 12. They gave an option for hybrid learning or at home learning, but as a teacher, I have no choice but to send my children back to school because there would be no one at home to manage their online education. In a little over a month, the kids would more than likely be exposed anyway. I researched Covid trends and several things were evident. First, the numbers of people getting the virus were increasing but the numbers of people dying were decreasing. Teens who contracted the virus tended to have mild to moderate cases or were asymptomatic. Very few teens have died and those that did usually had pre-existing conditions.
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All of this combined, led me to the decision to go. I wanted the kids to be able to enjoy one day of their summer and if we did get it, at least work would not be a factor when trying to care for them. We decided that we would simply re-quarantine after the event, mostly for other people's safety and only go out for groceries or emergencies. In all honesty, even with great numbers of people there, we didn't get too close to anyone. We know we gambled by deciding to address the kids' socio-emotional needs at the risk of their physical health, but hopefully the percentages and trends we found in our research will be in our favor and we will feel more confident in our decision. One thing is certain though, the kids had a wonderful time and they have definitely been in better spirits since the 4th!
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