Dear Jessica Brennan,

Here are eight things that come to mind, that I have learned from the coronavirus.  I’m sure there will be more.

ONE: Dad is an extrovert. I am an introvert.  If ever there was a test to see who gets energized by being around people and who gets energized from solitude, this pandemic is it.

Me: We need bread, milk and wine.

Dad: Okay, I will get bread Monday, milk Tuesday and wine Wednesday

Me: Why don’t you just go to the Metro and get them all at once?

Dad: No. I need something to look forward to.

TWO: We all need something to look forward to. Introvert or extrovert  – we are all the same in this regard.  In past years there would be a dinner party at the Lonsdales or a holiday to Savannah.  There would be a Christmas Eve gathering on the horizon, or an impromptu pub night at the Waltzing Weasel or Jeans ‘n Classics would be playing at The Grand Theatre. Having nothing to look forward to except the nebulous end of this virus, wears us all down and makes time very weird.

THREE: Time becomes very weird.  During the last year, I really can’t explain one month to the next.  One day to another is undefinable too.  I think it is because, for many of us, nothing is really happening. Even those of us who are still busy with work, feel the monotony of time. There are not a lot of things to anchor to.  I know this is just my experience, and some have had a lot of tragedy to cope with. My heart goes out to these people trying to navigate through life’s worst moments during this time. For the rest of us though, this feeling of not having any differentiation in days, can make you a bit loopy.

FOUR: People have gone a bit loopy.  Despite science, (which doesn’t judge or care) telling us real facts that are indisputable, like wearing a mask will help to protect you from becoming sick and possibly dying, there are anti-maskers to various degrees who refuse to believe the science. They are making this about rights and freedoms as opposed to just plain inconvenient truth. They act like this virus is happening to them, the individual, as opposed to all of us, the collective. Often those who complain the most are the ones who have enjoyed a great deal of privilege.

FIVE: Complaining doesn’t help anyone. The virus can’t hear you.

SIX: Some humans in our time, particularly the ones that have enjoyed privilege, seem to think that them being tired of isolation means something to a virus.  They think that the rules that we all need to follow to stay safe, don’t apply to them. They are childish and spoiled. The sin of privilege — one of the ugliest traits known to humankind in my opinion, has been loud and proud and has surprisingly shown up in people I wouldn’t have thought would wave that particular flag. Interesting. The inconvenience of the virus has brought out the worst in some of us.

SEVEN: Our worst traits seem to be linked to refusing to care about the common good. The insistence that the lockdowns are a result of things being blown out of proportion despite the evidence that no one making the rules gains from a lockdown, seems to go hand-in-hand with wanting to be first in line for the vaccine. Some people are willing to travel to get the jab, and some actually have lied or used their power to step in front of people more vulnerable than themselves. However, most people are not like this. Most people are good, and understanding and generous with their praise of the people who are burdened with making the decisions. Most people wouldn’t want to be the ones having to lead the charge on a pandemic we didn’t see coming that has consumed us for a year.

EIGHT: Most of us are good. The stories of people helping their neighbours, being creative with their time, and embracing the hours they are spending with those in their own household in fun and loving ways, have grounded my spirit, but also, I cannot lie, there are days when I feel blue. I look outside at the snow and wonder if spring will ever come. Will we ever hug our friends again?

Of course we will. This too shall pass. Dear Jessica, and Dear Reader, what have you learned from the pandemic?

Love,

Mum xo