
COVID-19 has thrust so many from different countries to be on alert. Every day, the rules and regulations from different governments are changing, not just in the United States, but on a global level.
When this virus made its presence known in December in Wuhan, China, I heard about its existence from various news outlets, but at that point, it was a disease that was affecting people in China, not the United States. Even when I heard that the virus had affected passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, I was concerned for them, but didn’t think it would ever affect my neck of the woods; and I was so wrong.
When the virus hit Italy and the number of casualties kept getting higher, as well as fear of its spread to other countries, I started to wonder how we, as a country, would we react? I got my answer when the first confirmed case came from someone who lives in New York, not far from where my brother-in-law lives.
The result affected me in waves of disbelief and fear. Disbelief that this virus had made its way to my state and affected a whole community, and fear for how many more people would become casualties from one person. Since the confirmation of this person’s sickness a few weeks ago, his community has been on lockdown and continues to be so, making it impossible for my brother-in-law and his fiancé to leave.
As the number of casualties continues to rise, businesses, schools, and the economy have been affected, not just here in the States, but globally. My daughter is just one among thousands whose schools have been mandated to close for a few weeks or longer and continue their schoolwork remotely. While my daughter is able to continue learning remotely, others are not as fortunate.
As for my husband and I, we have been affected by this virus in a circuitous way. We had plans on attending a family member’s Bat Mitzvah in New York last week along with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and nephew in tow. Upon learning that New York had become a hot spot for COVID-19 and more people were testing positive from this virus, my husband and daughter thought it best that we cancel our trip because my mother-in-law and I have compromised health issues. While I was initially disappointed and sad that we couldn’t be with our daughter and extended family for this special occasion, I knew that it was the right decision to make.
We thought we had dodged the virus until we found out that my sister-in-law’s ex-husband may have come in contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus. While my mother-in-law and I did not have any physical contact with him, my husband and sister-in-law did when they had to pick up my nephew from him in North Carolina. The intention was to have my nephew drive up with us for the Bat Mitzvah, before we decided not to go. Up until we found out about my ex-brother-in-law’s situation a few days ago, my husband and I were busy showing our family our new home and neighborhood.
The news of his possible contact impacted us differently. My husband, who had never been a doomsday believer went out to the stores and bought enough food to last us for a few weeks. In addition, he also installed a Purell dispenser in our bathroom so we could all use it as needed. As for me, the thought of not having my daughter living in the same state as us worried me. I started to realize that this crisis has no end date and we are all affected, one way or another.
In light of how this virus has affected us locally and globally, the idea of “social distancing” has become a necessity. For someone like me who loves to be around people, I thought social distancing would be hard to do; that it would make me stir crazy to have restrictions of socializing with people other than my family. I was wrong.
Social distancing is allowing me to be mindful of how I act around other people. It is helping me become aware of how my actions affect those around me and my community. Others may look at social distancing as punishment, but for me, it is a way to slow down and realize that doing this one action could help reduce the spread of the virus. I don’t know how long or how many more people will be affected by COVID-19, but I do believe that social distancing is one way of refocusing the way we think about this virus, those affected by it and how we move forward from it.
This is an original post by Tes Silverman written for World Moms Network.
World Voice Editor
You’re so right, Tes. Here is South Africa the whole country is on lockdown. My husband and I went on voluntary lockdown last Tuesday (because I suffer from several chronic illnesses, so better safe than sorry) and the rest of the country went on mandatory lockdown last Thursday.
I count my blessings every day – hubby and I are both able to work from home, we have everything we need not to have to go out for anything, and our pets have a large enough yard so they aren’t suffering from not being taken for walks (which is prohibited during the lockdown period). I’m well aware that many people are not as fortunate as we are. I’m also grateful that our kids are under lockdown in Germany. Out of all the European Countries they could be in, I believe that Germany is probably the safest. It’s very hard to be on a different continent from my kids at this time, but knowing that (at least so far) they’re safe and not lacking anything, makes it easier to bear. Thank God for Social Media though! I don’t think I could cope if I wasn’t able to at least see and talk to them as often as I’m able to.
Sadly (due to too many people believing that COVID19 only infects “white” people) we’ve had our first cases in “informal” settlements already. Given that in “informal settlements” social distancing is practically impossible (due to the fact that up to 10 people live in a single -room shack, they have no running water and need to share communal toilets) we’re bracing ourselves for a catastrophe.
I just pray that this enforced time at home will turn us into better, more compassionate people and that we won’t forget how precious every life is after the pandemic is over. This is the best time for Dreamers to unite and create a better world for everyone! After all, for the first time ever, the whole world is facing the same challenge. It’s the perfect time to collaborate with each other for the good of Mother Earth. I choose to think of this time as a time of metamorphosis – hopefully we went into lockdown as caterpillars and will emerge butterflies! 🙂 <3
"You may think I'm a Dreamer, but I'm not the only one. Maybe one day you'll join us, and the world will be as one" (John Lennon -Imagine)
Simona,
Thank you so much for your comments. I feel for you and your family and I’m so glad that your kids are safe in Germany. I, too, am grateful for social media and for WMN for giving me the opportunity to connect with so many amazing women all over the world who are all going through this epidemic.
I love that you chose the word “metamorphosis” because we really are going through a radical change that will hopefully result in having us be more empathetic and caring of each other. Thank you for choosing John Lennon’s lyrics from “Imagine” because it is so appropriate at this time. Stay well and sending you love and peace . Xoxo