Thinking Safe Thoughts in Uncertain Times
No excuses, I have been remiss. Writing has taken a back seat to the complications of life. But I feel driven to write today.
I sit on my night shift, reports done, shift almost complete. I sat for a moment catching a brief highlight (lowlight) of the days news. We reached 173 infected here in Nova Scotia. We have been practicing social distancing, self isolating for almost 2 weeks now. Its been an inconvenience, and not normal. Its been hard to swallow and difficult to understand. And yet, its been calm, and somewhat orderly. Our Premier has made statements echoing that of our leader, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Echoing the words from so many other countries impacted by this.
I have spent time, a fair amount actually, seeking information, speaking with friends more intelligent than I, and gaining hope, but being realistic, to know this has not stopped, and depending on what we do as individuals, can be slowed and eventually stopped.
Our world has changed. From these days forward we will never be the same, we cannot be. We have seen an epidemic begin. We continue to be impacted, but, luckily for me, people in these parts have paid attention to our news, our medical professionals and we are doing what we need to.
I have 2 girls. They are doing school work, not knowing when they will be going back, if they are going back. Not knowing when they will be able to see friends, play with them. It is a strange time. For all.
There is no one not impacted by this. But, we need to be calm. We need to be level headed. And we have to be aware, knowing that our actions have consequences, dire consequences for some. But, it can be simple. So simple. Stay home. Clean what you can, change your clothes. Stay away from people. Don't congregate.
The news from our neighbouring country has been devastating. I am saddened by the response of the leadership in the US. I am not a politically charged person. I tend to just watch highlights on the news, sometimes. But, seeing people flock to the beaches, people walking shoulder to shoulder in the parks, and open spaces. To see Governors and Mayors cautiously suggest social distancing, and yelling at Trump for masks and ventilators. Once it gets to the point of N95 masks or ICUs its too late to fight over ventilators. There needs to be a hard stance on isolation, on distancing, on staying home.
We cannot judge, we are not there. We can send well wishes, and prayers and the likes. We cannot make the changes for the places we do not live. We cannot impact someone who are digging in on what Trump said in the past week. We can plead with them, we can argue... but without faith in the medical stance outside of the US, the US will be worse hit than Italy, which is already being proven numbers wise.
I hope for your safety. I do not wish illness like this to impact anyone. And to see those close to us making life changing choices that perpetuate the spread of this, is counter intuitive, and heart wrenching. Please. Stay home. Stay safe!