Recovery seemed like a long way away, and in many respects, we still have a long way to go. I feel like I am awakening from a long and deep sleep as everything went into hibernation through the spring. We are still under a mandatory mask mandate and we won’t be having Thanksgiving with the whole family. We have much to be grateful for as our family has remained unscathed (so far) whereas so many have lost loved ones. This will be a difficult season for so many, and my heart aches for people.
I wonder, though, what we takeaway from Covid-19; what will we remember years from now? Will we remember the fear we felt when near someone who coughed or found out we had been exposed?Or will we remember the long and endless days of being in our homes, binge watching on just about anything and reading everything available? Time will tell what will be included in history books regarding this time of our lives.
I hope to remember the time I was able to spend with my kids and the time working at the table for school with the youngest. I hope I remember what it was like to not have anywhere to go or “things” to do, always on the move and always busy. I’ll remember the puzzles we put together and meals we shared. It was a difficult time but I wouldn’t want to delete the experience from our consciousness either. It was time for us to be a family, and I cherish that. Sometimes being forced to slow down is a blessing and not a curse. Without dismissing the difficulties, I appreciate the time we had together. And while I struggled with writing during this time, and didn’t feel the usual inspiration I normally do, I am grateful for the rest.
Things are still not back to “normal” and perhaps they never will, even if we are in recovery. How can life return to normal after such a dramatic and traumatic experience for a nation? Face masks may become common during flu season now and perhaps we’ll never shake another hand, but I know we will prevail in creating a new normal. It says in Ephesians that there is a “time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” I would say there is also a time to heal and a time to be whole, as well. We need to go through the difficult experiences in order to appreciate the blessed ones.
And while Covid has not been eradicated, and people are still struggling socioeconomically and with their mental health, this time will be a short one in respect to history. We must all do our part to ease this the suffering and uplift one another. We’ve spent too much precious time being divided in our response to this virus. Too much time spent on personal freedoms rather than the effects on our common community. Will our selfish behavior also be remembered in the time to come? Do we want that to be remembered? Or do we want to be remembered for how we sacrificed little to achieve so much?
I don’t have all the answers on what the right thing to do is in regards to handling the virus or what is the best way to handle the country’s recovery. I couldn’t tell you what policy states or should state. However, I do know that over 230,000 people have died, leaving over 230,000 grieving families. I know how I would want my family to be treated if it was one of these families. I would want my loved one to be honored and respected. I would want their death be taken seriously.
Recovery is on the horizon. More people are getting back to work and a vaccine is on its way. We just need to be a little more patient and live how we would want to be remembered.
Published by ShadowTeamsNYC and represented by Lisa Hagen Books
- Recovery From Quarantine - November 9, 2020
- Inspiration in Quarantine - April 30, 2020
- By the Moon’s Light - March 17, 2020
