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On our daily walk today in Suburbia, Wisconsin, the sun was shining and the chill less piercing. Rocky the Chihuahua pulled ahead in eagerness. The air smelled clean and calm. The silent roads were eerie yet pleasant. It was midday, midweek but felt like Sunday. Children riding bikes and families out for walks had all the makings of a relaxing break from the daily grind. A quote from Dickens came to mind: ” It was the best of times; It was the worst of times.” Most of all, these are confusing times. How can this feel like peace not war?
Two weeks before this, my family’s daily life completely changed. My travel nurse husband is no longer traveling, and my son isn’t sure when he will be a college student again. I am fighting a battle with an invisible enemy that could be lurking on a doorknob, countertop, or piece of mail. I worry constantly about what the coming days will bring. Absolutely nothing is the same, and I fight the panic rising in me. A new routine has been thrust upon us, where the only thing that counts is avoiding a virus.
Back to that walk. The cardinals sang while signs of Spring pushed through the ground and children played outside. Dogs were intently walking their humans. And I realized that Father Time is currently standing still. These are times past, previous decades. These are the sixties and seventies where the home was a sanctuary, before 24-hour shopping and trendy restaurants. These are the eighties, where children still played outside before cell phones and the internet really took hold. Today and for the coming weeks, there is once more nowhere to go but the sanctity of home.
For many households, the daily stress of juggling schedules and demands have disappeared, the longed-for break from our jobs is underway, and we now set our own schedules. We have been given a gift of unexpected free time, where staying at home is our new job. Kids can play and parents can focus on family. Vacations are on hold and unimportant. The thought of buying a new house or car seems ridiculous. Buying anything other than necessities seems ridiculous. Getting nails and hair done is irrelevant. The oil-change can wait while we are not driving. The economy has crashed and bills are not being paid, paychecks are not being earned, but it’s nobody’s fault. There is no blame. All we can do is wait. Communities are helping communities and neighbors are helping neighbors. Nothing else seems too important, because priorities shifted overnight. Everything is more simple now. All that matters is taking care of families and staying well.
This is the worst of times. People are dying and fighting for their lives. Everyday choices have been removed from us. There is no social life, no evening out, jobs are gone and education is on hold. The daily statistics are terrifying, and we wonder what we are not being told. Hospitals are beyond capacity, masks are being made at home and tests are unavailable. Mass panic strips the shelves bare. Criminals sweep into action to make a fast buck and those in the know dump shares.
But as we wait Spring is fueling new life, and the world continues to turn. When this finally goes away and we can breathe again, the world will be a different place. We will be different. There will be anger and resentment, grief and denial. And I hope and pray there will be a new time of gratitude and thankfulness for life and good health, for friends and family, for personal freedom and choice, and the ability to move freely. I hope we teach our children to appreciate what really matters. I hope we don’t forget these simple times, where we enjoyed our families and the break from modern living, where the rush disappeared and we listened to birds singing instead. Once we finally launch out into the world, remember we need to rebuild. Support small businesses that need a kick start. Travel once more and bring life back to tourism. Thank a nurse, a supermarket worker, a truck driver for putting themselves at risk to keep us going. These are the new heroes.
There is no doubt that this has been a lesson for all of us. A lesson to governments, businesses, and individuals. We thought we had the answers and were in control, but we were wrong. We were not prepared. I hope we have learned so that we are ready for the next time.
