Friends....I want to have a chat with you today. In Northern Ontario the leaves have almost finished their falling. Suburbia is a flush with folks dragging out their favourite rakes or leaf blowers and the almighty extra large brown paper leaf bags to hoard the leaves until the next trash day.
Folks have been watching the news....perhaps still a little too much, but definitely not as much as during the onset of the pandemic just over 2 years ago.
Canadians struggled a lot with the strict measures that shut down major swaths of our vibrant economy. We take great pride in our national economy. We believe in hard work and earning your keep.
And now, by God´s grace, the restrictions have lifted and wearing masks is optional in public. Only highly confined and vulnerable settings such as doctor offices still command adherence to a mask wearing policy.
Another big miracle of deliverance was the cancellation of the app that was foisted upon Canadians to use whenever they tried to travel across a Canadian border. It was and is a welcome relief that this computerized travel tracking application was scrapped. It was intrusive and very much too ¨big brother-ish¨.
Well, I myself, did go ahead and get more than one Covid 19 vaccine.
The vaccines I took, made me feel horrible for 2 days or more, and then it was pretty much back to normal life.
A lot of folks in my city got Covid19, and most did not wind up in the hospital. Most just felt like they had a bad cold, or flu and bounced back within a week or so.
There were a few people I heard of in our corner of town.... who were hospitalized with severe experiences with the virus, but gratefully, both recovered and were released.
The saddest part of the pandemic in our northern Ontario city, was the experience of the virus that blew through several of our city´s retirement facilities. The number of those who got very ill and succumbed to the illness was so high...... the numbers are too painful to dwell on at the moment.
But we must be able and willing to talk about these things at some point. I understand it is hard....heart wrenching and disturbing. But it is a part of our city now, and a part of our shared experience of community.
What have we learned from the lock downs? What have we learned from the vaccines and their effects? What have we learned about how these kind of viruses affect those of us considered in our ¨golden years¨?
What have we learned about the social needs of us all? How did the lock downs and economic stress affect us mentally and emotionally?
How can we do things better if/and/or when there is ever another pandemic?
I am grateful to have made it through to the other side. I am free to go where I please and to wear a mask only when I choose. I am free to get whatever vaccine I choose to get as well. This is freedom of living and I give God the glory for this blessing.
If you are reading this, you are blessed too. You have access to the internet and you have the ability to read or have access to a device/person that reads this for you. You are greatly blessed.
You will someday speak about this pandemic in hindsight too. You will explain to some youngster what it felt like to be told you couldn´t go to school or work of the store for weeks on end. You will help them understand how and why......some folks didn´t make it.
As time and experience moves us forward in time and we put this global pandemic in the rear view mirror of our lives, we may just look upon one another with a sense of camaraderie and encouragement.
We have been there....in that fire...and we made it through. We can be proud of one another. For some it is still too soon, to even speak of closure or ¨moving on¨. The experience is too fresh and painful. I feel for you. I feel your discomfort and also respect your need for silence. May no one force you to speak before you are ready.
In closing, I just want to say this....that whatever challenges your life encounters, may the past 2 years remind you of just how strong and resilient we are. We can do anything. You got this.
Peace,
C.
