Dear Pandemic,
I got it. I cry uncle. You win. Whatever it takes for you to leave, I’m ready to do.
I’m not sure you understand the destruction you have caused. You have killed us, divided us, and have brought us to the verge of total chaos. You win. I’m done.
I don’t know why you appeared. Was it to teach us a lesson about the butterfly effect? I already blogged about that in 2012 (“The Butterfly Effect”) in a more positive light.
Maybe you just wanted to stir things up. To teach us a lesson. The lesson I gained was that we need each other more than we will admit. You took everything that brings us together away, concerts, sporting events, weddings, birthday parties, and even simply eating out. At the moment we as a nation may be the most divided we have ever been. There are so many lines drawn in our culture. If you wanted to see us fall, I fear you might achieve that.
Why? Why are you here?
I will admit that personally, you have forced me to reevaluate some things. There have been some positive effects from you being here. I wrote a book, April 2020. The whole family plays tennis now. We have some new recipes for dinner (also a few that we won’t make again). I do appreciate the time and the people in my life. But the negative outweigh the positive.
There is an underlying current of fear and anger that perpetuates our everyday existence. There is a sense of mistrust of everyone. That connection of energy from a smile or laugh is gone. Not knowing if someone is positive with COVID weighs down every interaction. The list goes on for us as a country and my personally. You have had an effect on every single person in this world.
Is that the lesson? By taking away our connections, even the simplest gestures of a smile, you are showing us that we are all connected?
If so, this is the toughest lesson I have ever had to learn… I hope we all pass this test, together.
It is all Connected 