I remember it was close to Christmas in 2019 when a colleague of mine at Nexus was reading up on the coronavirus. He was always telling us that he believed “this thing is going to get bad.” I brushed off his fears as one might brush off the rantings of a conspiracy theorist. I thought that the idea of a 21st century worldwide plague was unrealistic. The coronavirus had been making itself well known in other countries but we hadn’t heard of it coming to Canada yet.
When it was finally apparent that this was real, the coronavirus was renamed COVID-19, and talks of a lockdown began. I still thought that the idea of shutting down everything was something that could never really take off. I was filled with superficial questions like, “Do we really have to wear these dopey masks in public all the time?” and, “Where will I go to coffee if everything is closed?” I mean, I’m embarrassed even sharing those thoughts now. My mind was boggled with the talk of classes being shut down.
I was working at that time as a support worker with young adults with autism, and I knew that not being able to have that interactive support was going to affect them. Most of us thought this lockdown would last a few weeks; a month or two, tops. It was eerie to drive through town and see the streets so bare, and all the doors were locked to what had previously been familiar and comforting. People were frightened, and they were angry.
But amazing things did happen through COVID-19. People adapted, and found connection in what other ways they could. For the first time in years there was a baby boom, and a scurry to adopt new pets. People wrote letters and had video chats. There was a new appreciation of our fellow humans.
After two years, COVID-19 has become more manageable, and we are going about our lives again, albeit a bit differently. It seemed before COVID, people were looked down on if they got a flu or cold; we had to pull up our bootstraps and persevere. Now we are encouraged to stay at home and practice self-care, and keep our phlegm-ridden bodies away from others.
It also seems to be even more important to tell our friends and families how important they are; after all, we don’t ever know when we may suddenly be separated.
It seems that with every worldwide tragedy, there comes positivity, and, most importantly, there comes hope for our futures. After all, hope is really the only reason human beings will ever continue to live, and learn, at all.