Reunion dinner, 守岁, 分红包, lohei, these are the common practices of CNY.
This year, a new practice has emerged and it’s strongly encouraged by the government, with widespread publicity through mainstream media.
Take a ART test before going for CNY visits, especially if you are visiting the elderly.
With a change in the daily reporting of number of cases to include ART positive cases, this led to a sudden surge in February.
But life goes on.… From asking ‘When can we visit?’, we now ask ‘Are you ok for us to visit?’. From saying ‘Confirm all of us are coming for lunch’ to ‘Confirm all of us are tested negative’.
In a way, we have gotten used to living with Covid. Last minute cancellations due to an unwell family member.
Requests to take ART before visiting.
Being told not to come as the quota has been unexpectedly filled.
Taking the ART has become a norm, even for little kids.
Some have to take daily ART for a week before going to school due to HRW sent by MOH.
Some have to take weekly ART so that they are deemed safe to report for work.
Some take ART as and when needed to give themselves a peace of mind.
Some take ART to give others a peace of mind.
And of course with the ART results, we plan our next course of action / intervention. Negative results means we move on with our routines as much as possible.
Positive…. And we need to decide the next step. See doctor/ don’t see doctor, who else to test, who to inform, the rest of the family to stay home or continue routine and the list goes on. But we will need to intervene with some course of action. It totally doesn’t make sense if we get a positive result and yet continue life as usual.
We are all trying to be responsible to ourselves and to those around us, even though it may cause some inconvenience.
Now… how about in our relationships with our loved ones? Do I constantly take ART of my relationship with my spouse? My kids?
When I sense a possible ‘virus’ in my relationship, will I quickly take a ‘test’ to detect the ‘virus’ and plan my next course of action? Or I’ll just ignore it.
Do I actively ‘take ART’ in my relationships with my kids by constantly checking-in with them, find out what’s going on in their lives, and ‘intervene’ when necessary? Will we still say we are too busy with our lives and have no time for one another to do A.Relationship.Test?
Do we hold one another accountable for our responsibilities in a relationship? Just like how we want others to be ‘healthy’ before they come in close contact with us.
Do I check on the well-being of my spouse?
Do I check on the well-being of our relationship?
Do I actively and purposefully take action to maintain the health of our marriage?
If we can do actively do Antigen Rapid Tests to ensure our physical well-being, we can surely do as much (or even more!) in our relationships with our loved ones.
To ART or not to ART.
You decide.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18