Remember one year ago? So much momentum for so many, with so many clever ads and promos pushing how we’re entering 2020 with open eyes and great focus, you know- “20/20” vision, that type of thing?
Well, things a got quite blurry in 1st quarter, and then it got worse. So here we are, entering 2021 with cautious optimism, a heavy dose of realism based on facts, and the absolute need to get things back on track. When crisis entities and elected officials here historically discussed what possible cataclysmic events might affect us, the major impact items were usually nature-related: earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and hurricanes. And while each of these could be devastating, you could plan how to immediately handle the clean-up, fallout, loss of power, all- hands-on-deck recovery, and more. You’d start to bounce back within days.
But this insidious, take-no-prisoners virus didn’t come and go like a natural disaster or even a seasonal flu. It lingered, or rather, it lingers. It didn’t pick one area in which to do damage; it used evil, airborne messengers to transmit nasty effects islands-wide and worldwide, disproportionately affecting those least able to fight it.
We say “good riddance” to 2020, yet know that COVID-19 doesn’t abide by calendars or our personal resolutions to start anew just because 2021 starts Friday. Even with a plethora of vaccinations administered over the coming months, we still must adhere to distancing, mask-wearing, and repeatedly cleaning our hands.
As we’ve learned (sometimes painfully), letting one’s guard down for even a brief moment can prove to be enough to allow this unwelcome, microscopic, invisible, hovering guest into our lives. “Trust” is not enough when loved ones or friends live outside of your insulated bubble, as you must protect yourself and your inner circle from the novel coronavirus. Paranoia? No, reality.
One thing that’s probably improved over the past year is your vocabulary- with now-commonplace terms and concepts imprinted: novel coronavirus, super-spreader, herd immunity, asymptomatic, contact tracing, flattening the curve, epidemiology, pandemic, PPE, PPE, self-quarantine, N95, social distancing, and ventilators. It’s exhausting to think of what we now have to think of!
But enter 2021 we shall, gosh darn it; we will prevail, because that’s what we do. We may be exhausted, nervous, frustrated, and optimistically looking ahead, but caution amid recovery is essential to shake the persistent grip of this most unkind and unrelenting enemy. Onward!
Think about it…