Our New Year Eve celebrations are typically very quiet. This year was no exception. I received several texts and brief phone calls from my well-wishing family. We also had a short “Pandemic Safe” trivia zoom session with good friends. It was fun to laugh and get silly for a few moments.
The next morning, I woke up to the ever-present gloomy skies filled with rain showers of the Pacific Northwest. This weather pattern had been going on for a few days. I crawled out of bed and began my usual morning routine- exercise, shower, and breakfast. Always in that order.
I proceeded to spend the day doing household chores and taking a few hours to read a recently purchased paperback. The day ended with watching the nightly news.
There has been lots of “hype” about 2020 finally being over. Everyone I talked to was looking forward to a fresh start for 2021.
“Once the vaccine is here, things will straighten out”, my co-worker assured me.
Now, that we are a few days into 2021, I realize that nothing has changed. There was not a sudden clap of thunder or a flash of lightning that signaled the end to a difficult year.
The global pandemic rages on. The rain continues to beat against my living room window. And more to the point, I am still unable to be with my friends and family in the same room. I continue to carry out my same daily routine from the previous year.
So, where do we go from here? Yes, I believe there are better days ahead. However, it is going to happen gradually. There is no quick fix. Between being diligent with personal safety measures and getting the vaccine rolled out, the pandemic, as we know it, will wind down.
In the meantime, I need to be patient. It is with gratitude that I have been able to maintain a daily routine where others have not. I am thankful that my family has been healthy when several of my friends and acquaintances have been laid up with the virus.
Most of all, I am delighted that I have friends and family around me who make me laugh. It doesn’t matter if it’s a zoom link, a text, or a phone call, that connection is what is keeping me going until we truly can see this COVID outbreak in the rearview mirror.
“I just wanna see my friends
“I wanna walk the street again
But I gotta be patient
So let’s enjoy this confination”
Michael Buble, Barenaked Ladies & Sofia Reyes
Thank you!!1
Thanks for this post Jan. We still have lots to be thankful for, even though our lives have all changed. Having family, good friends, and a bit of relentless optimism are, in my experience, all key components to getting through the hard times.
Fabulous thouoghts will be sharing with the leadership team today