The clash

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

– “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by English punk band The Clash, 1982

They say it’s not drinking alone if your dog is home.

Always makes me chuckle, whether those words are embroidered on a tea towel, etched in a wine glass or printed on a fridge magnet.

No doubt the familiar saying has been particularly apt for some during the COVID-19 pandemic. Myself included.

I must admit, lately our crystal decanters on the bar need refilling more often. Dewar’s scotch, Tito’s vodka, Jack Daniel’s whiskey.

Our new Big Three.

It has been a rough eight months, hasn’t it? Thank goodness global pandemics usually only occur every hundred years. Who could survive this more than once?

Phrases with new meanings have entered our lexicon: bubble, novel coronavirus, social distancing, flattening the curve, contact tracing, PPE, quarantine.

And least expected: working from home.

But being home 24/7, whether to work or play, has its challenges.

Having your person with whom to share the ups and downs of quarantining is not to be taken for granted. I’m grateful I have Rebecca for this and, of course, to do the grocery shopping. (Joking.) And our dog, Maddie, brings me joy just by breathing.

But being alone sometimes has its benefits, particularly for us introverts. Solitude and social distancing aren’t dirty words. Blank calendars represent freedom.

I have spent most of my adult life creating bubbles, increasingly small social circles of close friends and family. It’s been fine, at least up until recently when the weather changed, and our outdoor-eating window shut.

What will happen this winter when cold weather forces us inside?

Should we stay, or should we go?

Rebecca is leaning toward going to Anna Maria Island this winter, as we had planned more than a year ago. Me? I’m not so sure.

The rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the nation scares the hell out of me. So does traveling out of state and staying overnight in a hotel.

We have a few days to decide without losing our deposit.

My quandary: Spending February and part of March in a balmy, yet undeniably germy petri dish on an island in southwest Florida.

Or staying home in Michigan, cooped up indoors, braving ice, snow and freezing temps, unable to retrieve the mail across the street without slipping and falling on my ass.

Maybe I’ll go for a walk while I still can and give this more thought.

Or just skip it and have a Big Three on the rocks.

After all, the dog’s home.