Remember when we used to talk about the weather? Remember when we’d complain about the rain or the price of gas or the traffic? We don’t do that anymore. I used to put on makeup every morning before I walked the dogs. I don’t do that anymore either. Times have changed.
We are living in a defining moment – the world we knew is a thing of the past. My grandchildren may not be old enough to remember a time before the pandemic – those are the olden days now. By the time my little kids are grandparents their grandchildren will be studying COVID19 in the same fashion we studied polio or measles, in textbooks. Whoever discovers the vaccine for this baby will go down in history.
I’ve been coping very well under these weird circumstances, social distancing and social media-ing like a champ. I honestly didn’t think I was anxious at all until one of my nieces had to be tested for the virus. Suddenly this thing was personal. Thankfully her test was negative but the experience really brought home what a precarious situation we’re all in – we are a sneeze or a cough away from being statistic in this pandemic.
I’ve had a reality check. I’m not more afraid than I was yesterday but I am definitely being a little more cautious – I am taking this self isolation thing even more seriously. I’ve taken living alone to a whole new level – I don’t even talk to myself anymore. Apparently an appropriate social distance was determined by measuring the potential spray of a sneeze – I have claimed that six foot diameter as my new personal space and I will step into traffic before I trespass on another person’s real estate. If the one thing we can do to help combat this invisible enemy is to keep our distance, I am going to damn well keep that distance.
I’m not taking these precautions for me, although that’s part of the reason, I’m taking them for the person I might inadvertently sneeze on. I’m taking them for my children and my grandchildren, for my niece and all the people I love. I’m taking them for the healthcare workers and those on the front lines. I’m taking them for you.
Nobody knows how this thing is going to play out or what tomorrow holds. I do know Covid19 will go down in history as the global pandemic it is and we will be remembered as the people who survived it. We are making history.