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I was thinking today about what's going to change as a result of the coronavirus, and how much of it will be long term and permanent. Will shaking hands be a thing of the past, for example? Will we avoid touching people and keep more to ourselves?
Maybe we will just go back to being the people we were before this crisis hit.
But I don't think so. I think in some ways we will be forever changed. And there's no way of knowing what those things might be.
Think about going back into big crowded places again. Will you see them as germ-infested? Will you carry hand sanitizer everywhere you go? Will you try to avoid such places? I think one thing this has made me more aware of is vulnerability.
I've always been really healthy, and I only come down with some sort of virus maybe every three or four years. But just as the first cases were appearing here in the U.S. I came down with a terrible cold. I lost my voice and coughed a crazy amount and had an awful sore throat (which keeps coming back, even now, weeks later).
No, I don't think it was the coronavirus. I didn't have the classic symptoms of chills and fever. But here I was sick for the first time in a very long time. And it was a wake-up call. I had forgotten how awful it is to be sick. I know exactly where I got it too - one of my coworkers came to work with it and I must have gotten too close or touched the same door handle or something. Who knows. But I'm more aware. I'm going to be a lot more careful.
I've been thinking a lot about weddings. Can you imagine if you had a wedding planned in the middle of all this? Thousands and thousands of weddings must be have called off or postponed. I'm not in an age group where there are a lot of people getting married, and my kids aren't quite marrying age yet, so I have not actually heard of anyone canceling their wedding, but I'm sure it's happening everywhere. My heart goes out to people who had major things planned - get togethers, parties, celebrations, weddings. So much is put on hold.
I do think that, like many crises, this is bringing out the good in a lot of people. There are so many people who are gout out of their way to contribute in some way, whether it's by going to work at food shelves, making masks, or continuing to work and support the rest of us who are sheltering at home. We still need people who will stock the grocery shelves and deliver food. We need doctors and nurses to care for the sick, perform surgeries and deliver babies.
The one thing I do know is that people just seem kinder with all this going down. If there is one lasting effect from all this that I hope will stick with us, it is that!
Thanks for reading!