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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 23 ,2 02 1 | 8 oakville.ca Stay up-to-date with the latest openings and closures Visit oakville.ca for current information, and follow the town's social media channels: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Visit oakvilletransit.ca for holiday transit, care-A-van, Home to Hub schedules and safety restrictions. Snow clearing information line is available at 905-815-5999 along with our snow plow tracker at oakville.ca. Spot a problem? Report it! Our ServiceOakville Online tool lets you report a variety of issues like potholes, noise, winter services and on-street parking concerns. To report urgent problems related to roads, by-law enforcement, traffic lights, trees or storm events, please call 905-845-6601 to be connected with our after-hours service. Halton Region Public Health Get the latest information on COVID-19, public health guidelines, vaccines, Halton's case data and more by visiting halton.ca. Warm and safe holiday wishes from Town Council and staff! Bright lights and wrapped gifts. Christmas trees topped with stars. Car- ols and ceremonies. And the sudden influx of Christmas movies on Netflix. Among all this, I find myself thinking about rela- tionships the most this hol- iday season. The pandemic has changed so much between family and friends. Bonds have been tested between couples, children, extend- ed family, school friends, neighbours and even co- workers. Distance, fear, loneli- ness, and even disputes over the pandemic have strained relationships. You hear about families and friends severing ties over the origin of COVID, trust in science and the public health measures, vaccine safety and necessity and the risk to personal safety. Now with Omicron, the latest variant in a virus that continues to mutate and threaten our commu- nities, relationships face yet another challenge. The answer is obvious: pull together once again. The question is how. We're all tired. Sick of the worry about the personal hardships we face. Sick of the fear as the pandemic continues its relentless march toward our neigh- bourhoods. Sick of the un- certainty. We yearn for the free- dom and predictability of days past. The pandemic has made us grieve for the loss of ... well, you fill in the blank. Trite as it sounds, pull- ing together is the only thing that matters. Pulling together means building relationships. It asks for kindness toward strangers: giving up a seat on the bus ... opening the door for a mom pushing a stroller ... dropping off a care package to the local police department, addic- tions clinic, nursing home or library ... making a dona- tion to those in need. It asks for kindness toward family and friends -- making a cup of tea for a spouse ex- hausted from work ... hold- ing hands while watching a movie at home ... sending a drawing of the family from a child to their aunts and uncles ... shovelling the driveway for an elderly neighbour ... playing board games after school ... tak- ing a moment to just laugh. Kindness is compas- sion, generosity, forgive- ness and respect -- espe- cially when we're tired. It is the core of all rela- tionships. Kindness is the how of pulling together. So if nothing else, let's close out 2021 by protecting the one constant left in our lives: our relationships. Nadia Alam is a Halton physician and past presi- dent of the Ontario Med- ical Association. Her col- umns also appear on www.drnadiaalam.com. She can be reached through her website. LET'S PROTECT WHAT MATTERS MOST - OUR RELATIONSHIPS Let's look past our differences and nurture our relationships this holiday season, says Dr. Nadia Alam. Metroland file photo OPINION PULLING TOGETHER THE BEST WAY WE CAN DO THAT, WRITES DR. NADIA ALAM DR. NADIA ALAM Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM The Oakville Beaver values the opinions of its readers, and the communi- ty at large. With that said, we wel- come your letters to the ed- itor on all matters that im- pact area residents. We ask that letters be no more than 275 words, and include the full name and town of the writer. Your address and tele- phone number must also be included for verification purposes only. We do not publish anon- ymous letters. Letters will be edited or rejected for of- fensive content, factual er- rors, legal issues or space restrictions. Send your letters to insi- dehalton@metroland.com. SEND US YOUR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR