Everyone in my family is vaccinated. My girlfriend and I both have antibodies. Our city has had less than 10 covid “deaths” in the last two weeks and less than 30 daily cases. We were planning a big family barbecue at the end of the month. 30+ family members who haven’t seen each other in almost 18 months. We had catering and everything ready to go. Invites were sent out. RSVPs started rolling in.

Then my mother called me this morning and said maybe we should “put it on hold just to be safe because the CDC says that we’re not out of the woods yet.”

I said nothing for a few seconds. This is the end of the line for me. I am ready to lose family and friends. Never see them again. I told my mom that we might as well be dead if this is how we are going to live. I said I will not be seeing her as long as she is living in fear of something that does not present a threat in our lives anymore. She did not raise me to live in fear. I hope she received the message, because I am done with this. We are beyond lunacy.