Living Through a Pandemic

I remember hearing my grandparents talk about living through the Great Depression. I'd think to myself "That must have been a bad time." Standing in lines for hours for a small amount of food and getting home to find that your sack of cornmeal was full of bugs. The tiny bit of milk was near spoiled and the bread that you was given was molded. Yet, being so thankful to have received these gifts, you work around it and scrap off the mold and sift the weevils out. Can you imagine having to do these things? I know I sure couldn't, not until this past year.

When news of the pandemic first arrived, like most others my stomach felt queasy as I wondered just how bad it may get. Walking into the grocery store for the first few times would send shockwaves through my veins. Empty shelves, limits being put on everything that was important to us. I wondered if I too would be finding myself standing in long lines for moldy food. How was I going to take care of my family? What if the time was coming when I just couldn't provide them with the things that they so desperately needed? Was food and clean water about to become a rare commodity? We was being led to believe that it was surely possible. This fear was only confirmed one morning as I walked through Wal-Mart and seen empty shelves on each isle. A lady was looking at the few cans of soup left available. When she seen me approach she took her arm and swiped off every remaining can into her shopping cart. Not even knowing what she was getting or taking the time to look at it, she gave me a hateful glare and moved on. Is this what we're dealing with now? Is this going to be the new normal?

I never dreamed that I would see a time when simple things like toilet paper would become unavailable. It was being sold online for huge, unbelievable prices and people was gladly taking it. One day as I walked through the store I noticed that there was a line growing in the toilet paper isle. The shelves were bare as the worker arrived pushing a cart full and some people was trying to swipe it before he could even place it on the shelf. Eventually a manager came and began handing one package to each person. A fight almost broke out over who was going to get the first package. I was beside of myself and could not believe or comprehend what I was seeing. I thought I would out-smart the crowd and decided to go look for Kleenex tissue or paper towels. That was all gone as well, I even made my way to the automotive department to look for shop towels, those were all out of stock as well. That's when that old Oak Tree in the back yard began looking better and better.

During the first few days it was almost scary to go outside and see people wearing face masks. It seemed even scarier to be outside without one on. The streets were eerily quiet and even the wind felt like it was contaminated. I remember walking out on my front porch and thinking to myself "this is like every zombie apocalypse movie I have ever seen, this is how it always starts." Yes my mind would run wild and I'd end up causing myself much more grief and torment by just thinking about the what if's. On the television all I could hear was "We're All In This Together." yet I felt so isolated, confused and scared. We seen how hospitals was being overrun and even robbed for medical supplies. The death tolls kept rising and everyday more and more terrifying details would emerge. Would we survive or was this the end of the world as we knew it? I think most of us was feeling this way deep down in our souls and we just didn't know.

When the first stimulus checks began to arrive I wondered to myself how this money would help us. All of the stores were closed and the few that remained open had empty shelves. Even purchasing garden seeds was almost impossible as they were all sold out too. I began to consider the possibility of having to hunt for food, but I was no hunter and did not have the first clue about how to even begin.

Never in my life did I ever think that I would be living through days like this or harboring such terrifying thoughts.

I began to notice that something beautiful was growing out of this terrible situation. It seemed like people had started to notice how special and important that the little things in life truly was. Dinner time meant something more special as we finally understood that we might not have it tomorrow.

Living through the pandemic has taught us a lot of valuable lessons. Taking the little things for granted is foolish as it can all change in the blink of an eye. Spending more time with friends and family is critical as we may not have another day together. I think that we also learned to take care of the things that we have and to not be so wasteful. Something as simple as a cold bottle of water holds a little more value now. I think that we all hug a little tighter and embrace a little longer.

Maybe the pandemic is a lesson to us all that something beautiful can grow from the darkest of days. Maybe it taught us that were each much more valuable than we ever thought before. Life as we know it is fragile and can be destroyed so easily.

More than anything else, I hope that it has taught us all to cherish life more deeply and to appreciate each other and all that we have in a higher degree.

Brighter days are surely ahead as the clouds are slowly moving but never forget the lessons that we were forced to learn during this unpredictable and frightening time in our lives. Always remember that the darkness can return at any time so embrace the sunshine and each other.