The summer of 2020 has been a challenging one to say the least. Not because of events within my home or family, but because of the constant reminder that we should fear each other and stay “safe”.
Terminal illness is something I know very well as my father succumbed to death by liver cancer at the age of 49. Illness is something I know well as I have an 8 year old daughter who gets the flu every season. Drug addiction and illness is also something that has touched my life in a tragic way when I lost my aunt to her addiction. Yet, I kept on living.
So I beg to ask the question, what are we afraid of?
Are we more afraid of a virus than we are of complete government oversight and control? Are we more afraid of a virus than our children growing up without a childhood? Are we more afraid of a virus than a world of social distancing and separation? Are we more afraid of a virus than we are of fighting for our freedom?
Yesterday, in the grocery store, I made sure to mask up and go about my regular weekly shopping. I observed people as they walked by making sure they weren’t “too close” to me. I observed the discomfort of not being able to see if a person was smiling at me or frowning.
In my home, I have an eight year old little girl who is an only child. A little girl who once upon a time thought anything was possible, yet now she can’t even enjoy the first day of school. She watches as the school buses pass by in the neighborhood, not because they are picking her up, but because they are being paid to train on their routes for food drops.
My child, whose father lives in South America, cries for the moment she will see him again. She asks me almost daily when this will be all over so she can see her dad. For the first time, the mom who knows it all has to tell her baby, “I don’t know”.
Most people I know that have had Covid-19 (and that number I can count on one hand), are alive and breathing and living. Those friends of mine that have had the virus are now stigmatized by the rest of the world as having “The Virus”. Though they are all clear of the virus today, they are still excluded from family moments and gatherings.
When you ask me, What are you afraid of? My answer is very different than what you may think during this pandemic.
I fear that this is the new normal. I fear that we have entered a time of no return. I fear that we will all be forced to vaccinate to live a “normal” life again. I fear that the laws surrounding this pandemic will last beyond the virus. I fear that people won’t introduce themselves with a hug anymore. I fear that the government will use 5-G and technology to invade our homes and our lives in the name of “safety”. I fear that my daughter won’t have a first day of school because digital learning proved to be more economic for the states. I fear that she won’t be able to make a “new” friend because the parents are scared she may be infected. I fear that small talk in the grocery store has ended. I fear that human interaction has been forever tainted.
We are watching the powerful make decisions for all of us. We are watching it without having real facts and statistics. The chains have been applied to all of us, not just US citizens, but humans around the world.
I fear that the chains will not come off in my lifetime.
Sereniti Sparkles 