I saw a notice of news of the Coronavirus from exactly a year ago. It was the one where the president said there were only 15 cases and they’d all be cleared up soon. I’m not going to speculate on what he knew or didn’t know about the virus on that day in February a year ago. I don’t know. And frankly, I don’t care.
But, we’ve now been through a year of this pandemic. We started off not really understanding how it spread. Could you catch it by touching something? By breathing? We all went out and bought toilet paper and masks. When we could find them. And hand sanitizer, and gloves. And we stayed in our houses. And we worked from home. And we waited.
And then it didn’t get better. It got worse. We saw the numbers of dead grow. First it was only some famous people who were affected. And then we heard about a relative who got it. Or a friend of a friend. Then, it was closer family members and all the while the death toll continued to creep up. It tragically passed milestone after milestone, 50,000, 100,000, 200,000. Finally we passed 500,000 just last week. Then, it was our own family, or maybe ourselves that were infected.
We missed things; birthdays with grandkid, Thanksgiving, Christmas, parties, even dinner with friends. We changed administrations. The players changed, but the game was the same. And the score continued to go up and up with no end in sight.
But, here’s the thing. You’re still here. YOU, the person sitting behind a computer and reading this. Or the person looking at your phone between meetings. YOU have endured. You will endure.
“Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you? You are at your very best when things are worst.”
– Starman
We are being asked to endure something that no one has experienced in more than 100 years. Many of you lost your jobs. You had to cancel vacations. And yet, you still need to raise your kids. You need to explain to them how to wear a mask. Why to wear a mask. You have to explain why they can’t have a their friends come over to play. You have to explain (again and again) why they have to watch school on the computer instead of being able to attend it in person.
Just know that you are doing great. It doesn’t matter how you compare to the guy next to you, or the woman down the street. You’ve come this far and you will ultimately be successful.
We will tell our grandchildren and great-grandchildren about these days. And they will listen with rapt attention at times having difficulty comprehending what you made it through.
“I couldn’t do that,” they’ll say.
But, you can. You did. And you are.
I’m proud of you.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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