Day #275 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Merry Christmas to all…

Christmas tree in the lobby of our hotel in Mumbai.

Today’s photos from today, December 25, 2020, were taken by Tom in the hotel lobby in Mumbai.

I wish I could say it feels like Christmas Day today, but it does not. This morning, Tom, after hearing “Merry Christmas” from a passing couple (wearing masks, yeah!) in the corridors as he did his walk he took the lift downstairs to the lobby to find a Christmas tree and other decorations, resulting in today’s photos.

At some point today, well-masked and gloved, I will head down there also to see the decorations. Perhaps, this will precipitate a glimmer of holiday spirit. The lack of feeling “Christmasy” doesn’t negate the fact we are well aware and profoundly moved by this particular time of the year and its meaning for us, celebrations or not.

Firstly, we both want to thank the unbelievable number of readers that sent us warm wishes from all over the world. We attempted to reply to each one, but as we tried to do so, we began to realize it would take days to respond to every one of those particular messages personally.

Instead, we extend our heartfelt appreciation for how you, our dear readers, brought light and hope into our hearts during Tom’s birthday on December 23, Christmas Eve, and now Christmas Day here in India. The outpouring of encouraging and loving messages made this time very special for us.

Gingerbread houses in the hotel lobby.

Surely, it’s one of many heartwarming perks we’ve gleaned from sitting here, day after day, writing to YOU, regardless of how boring and mundane our content, especially during in this confinement, day after day, month after month, as we anxiously await the prospect of getting out of here soon in a mere 18 days.

Again, yesterday, we considered our prospects of a backup plan if the flight to Johannesburg is canceled last minute. Tom tends to be more optimistic and assumes we’ll make it, whereby I always prefer to have a Plan B in place, just in case.

I guess at this point. We can’t conclusively state what we’ll do at the Mumbai International Airport in the middle of the night if we’re denied boarding our booked flight a second time, which would repeat the situation on March 20, 2020. In researching online, there are so many varying restrictions and regulations due to Covid-19. Based on our ongoing research, many of the previously mentioned options we’d considered don’t appear to make as much sense as they did weeks ago.

In any case, we have scheduled a lab tech to come to our hotel on January 10, 2021, to perform the Covid-19 tests for both of us, with results available online and printable within eight hours. Not only does Emirates Airlines require the tests, but also it is required to enter most countries.

Here, in our posts, we contemplated several Plan B options. However, in the future, we have to see how it all rolls out as time nears. I’m sure if the flight is canceled between now and then, we’ll be notified. The worst-case scenario is that it will be canceled while we’re already at the airport in the middle of the night.

More decorations in the hotel lobby.

Anyway, back to Christmas. Hum…each time I look at the homepage on my phone and see “December 25, 2020,” I’m reminded of how most of us throughout the world are anxious for this dreadful year to come to an end. But, what will the New Year bring? Will sufficient numbers be vaccinated to reach a state of herd immunity eventually?

In many countries, such as South Africa, it is expected that only 10% of the entire population of 58 million will be able to receive the vaccine due to a lack of financial resources and infrastructure to accomplish a loftier and more reasonable goal. We can only wait and see how it all rolls out.

In any case, we wish every one of our readers who celebrate a very Merry Christmas, filled with hope, love, and prayers for the future. For those who do not, we wish you, along with the remainder of the world’s citizens, a safer, healthier, and more promising future in years to come.

Stay healthy.

Photo from one year ago today, December 25, 2019:

Tom and brother-in-law Gene. Note Tom: always using his hands when he tells a story. We didn’t include photos of other family members when they preferred not to publish their photos online. No problem. For more, please click here.