It is hard to believe that we have spent an entire season dealing with COVID 19. We had dinner with dear friends tonight. We sat on their back porch, each of us taking our too generous share of a large 10 foot table. It was so hard to sit so far apart. We are euchre buddies. You cannot socially distance and play euchre so, we enjoyed a meal and some wine and an amazing, summer solstice sunset at 9 pm.
I remember as a kid in the sixties complaining vehemently to my parents about having to go to bed when it was still light out. We called in 'lighter- later'. It was not fun hearing the neighbourhood kids still playing on the street through my bedroom window. I thought of that memory as we drove home tonight, watching the brilliant pink-orange of the already set sun making the white picket farm fences glow. I loved that as a kid: Corn fields, picket fences, setting suns and a too early bed time.
Those were precious times.
We tried to do a quick run to the grocery store before our visit. I realized as I stood outside in line in the heat of this last day of spring 2020, that a quick run to the grocery store no longer exists. I watched as people parked their cars and joined the line. I watched as they fumbled with car keys and purses and cell phones and car doors, all while trying to get their masks on. I now envy the women who have masks that match their outfits and I think the guys with a double layered bandana look really cool. I admire the distance everyone is keeping. The distance seems to come with silence. An eery, strange silence. Our hand shakes and social greetings have been replaced by masks and silence. It bothered me and for a minute or two, I was angry at what this virus has forced us to do but then I realized there is a new and ironic connection between each of us that was not there before. It is our commitment to work together to make COVID 19 move on and out of our daily lives. These are precious times too. There is an intimacy that comes with grief and loss and a connection that comes with shared hardship.
Some perspective on our developed world and the developing world ( or first world and third world as they were once called):
Standing in line at a grocery store for 20 min in the heat with a mask on is a privilege in a country like ours. Entering a grocery store that is packed with food and fresh produce is a privilege. Sitting with two healthy friends while sipping wine in their back yard is more than a privilege, it is a blessing. Having a government that can carry us through times of loss and unemployment is unimaginable to most people in the world and having that government rely on the wisdom of some of the most skilled scientists, researchers and medical experts to come up with a plan that has carried us this far, through an entire season, is miraculous. Thank you for making me wear a mask. Thank you for making me stay six feet away from people I love and thank you leading me down a path that will see the end of COVID 19.
Struggle, yes. Hardship, yep. A way of life that has passed and a new one ahead, no question. Equally precious, absolutely.
This is my 100th post.
One hundred days of a pandemic behind us. And more to come I am afraid. But we are still standing, so much stronger than we were three months ago.
Here's to more and more strength as we move into the summer of 2020.
Anne-Marie
Please share
For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here:
https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment