It has been a little over five months since we became aware of coronaviruses, much less what we now refer to as COVID-19 and only 7 weeks since George Floyd's death. Think about it. None of us have even grown a year older. Yet, to many of us, it feels like an eternity. How are we doing?
Let's review.
The stages of COVID-19 reality have almost changed weekly, if not daily, for most of us. We've gone from the introduction, safer at home, social distancing, businesses/parks closing, re-opening, and closing again. Unemployment claims soared. Fortunately, the Feds came up with the CARE package which would help millions get through until July 31. Masks were always recommended in public. Now, in some areas they are mandatory. We all know we really are safer at home but the vast majority of the population does not have that luxury. As of this writing, there have been almost 3 million COVID-19 cases and 133,000 deaths confirmed in the United States.
On May 25, George Floyd, a black man, died under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis. Eventually, the officer was charged with murder. In the meantime, while many of us were still hunkered down at home due to COVID, the horrific video went viral. If we watched the news at all, we saw it over and over. We began to learn about other people of color across the country who have died because of the poor judgment of officers. It was sad and incredibly disturbing. The protest marches began and still continue all over the U.S. The demand for law enforcement reform and civil rights legislation has spread to all corners of our nation. The majority of the marches have been peaceful but the need to increase awareness about the inequities in our country has to be done.
As they say, we've come a long way, Baby... or have we? How are we adapting to this new pandemic and civil unrest environment? What have we learned about ourselves?
My heart goes out to all who have suffered or lost a loved one during either of these crises. As for dealing with the safer-at-home mantra, it has not been too difficult for me to adapt but I've been retired for ten years. I learned a while ago how to find new things to occupy my day. Being flexible and staying connected to friends and family is the key. Turning off the television and avoiding all the bad news magnified by rampant politics has also helped. I am thankful that, to my knowledge, none of my family or friends have contracted the virus so far. I do have a confession. I have become a jigsaw puzzle addict. I think my hubby and I are on our tenth puzzle challenge!
I am concerned about the long term effect on our children and grandchildren though. Are they negatively internalizing all the events or are they learning from them? My observation of the kids I am around is they seem to be resilient. They are spending more time with their families and, in spite of quarantine, have found ways to connect with friends through technology and one-on-one visits. However, this pandemic is long term and not likely to disappear any time soon. With their normal short-term attention span, are they simply going forward and accepting today as it is and not looking back? Mostly, I worry about the quality of education they have received during quarantine and into the upcoming school year. Will they be able to catch up or, down the road, will we see lower scores on SAT and college entrance exams? I guess we just have to trust our educators to foresee any difficulties and develop remedies to solve them.
How are you doing? What can you teach the rest of us about adapting to our new world? What are your concerns?
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