We Keep COVID-19 Alive

One of my granddaughters just reminded me of how the pandemic has changed me -- her gift to me today was a can of Lysol spray.

Family often gift me with Clorox wipes, hand sanitizers, gloves, masks, and food (got to make sure that I eat).

These are not the gifts that I would have been given before 2020, but now, they have become standard, and you know what, I am always glad to see them show up with one or the other in their little hot mitts.

Our world, as well as our needs, have changed.

Back in the day, we worried about our personal space -- one full arm length. Now, we need six feet between us.

Seeing people on the streets with a mask made us take notice -- now we take notice if they do not have on a mask.

On the weekends, we wanted to know where the backyard cookout was happening and upset if we did not get an invitation -- today, most of us are scared to have a backyard cookout even with our family members.

Any number of people would use the bathroom and walk right back out without washing their hands, and we would think how nasty is that -- washing hands is encouraged and considered essential, and if you can't wash, you must sanitize. We have sanitizers in our homes, cars, pocketbooks, coat pockets, and almost every other place you can think of, and even some wouldn't expect.

Some ask, will our world ever be the same again? On some levels, I truly pe not. COVID-19 is not the only virus, bacteria, etc., that we need to concern ourselves with, but because of its deadliness, cleanliness has caught our attention again.

The human kindness in us comes out more quickly and sticks around because we have seen up close and personal the impact that COVID-19 has had on our families, communities, neighborhoods, and, yes, our own lives.

Having seen more than ten or more of my family members and friends struggle for their lives during this pandemic has shaken my very core. I watch with intensity the debate over wearing a mask or not wear a mask, crowds or no crowds, business as usual, and on and on until you hear those on the wrong side of the debate personally experience COVID-19 -- then they believe.

For the record, COVID-19 has gone NOWHERE. Even with the vaccine, you can get COVID-19. Even if you have already had COVID-19, you can get it again. At least, that is what the research shows.

My question is, WHY TAKE THE RISK?

Why expose your family members?

Why put our children at risk for what use to be normal?

I still have too many questions, healthwise and otherwise, to let the discussion of COVID-19 die. It is a public health crisis. It is a family crisis. It is a community crisis, and yes, it is a national crisis.

What can you do?
1. WEAR your mask
2. SOCIAL distance
3. WASH your hands regularly and keep hand sanitizers close by for you can't wash your hands
4. STAY at home when possible, venture out when necessary, and FOLLOW directions (wipe down your grocery cart, take other precautions like going out early if you are vulnerable, sanitize your car when re-entering, wipe down new items introduced in your home, disinfect your home with disinfectant, and do what your can to limit outsiders from your home (that includes family).

For the record, there is no worse feeling in the world than learning than your child, family member, friend, co-worker, etc. had COVID-19 is in ICU, and you can's call, visit, or do anything else to reach out to them.

Because you don't think someone has COVID-19 does not make it true.

I can't even imagine the pain and suffering for those who do not get to ever see their family member again because COVID-19 won their life battle. Sometimes, things are not real UNTIL they happen to us.

Don't be one to learn this lesson up close and personal. Stay vigilant. Stay on guard. Stay protected to the best of your ability. STAY SAFE!

OH, I am sorry, you got the vaccine. That is awesome, BUT as I understand it, the vaccine does NOT stop you from contracting the disease OR giving the disease to someone else, INCLUDING your loved ones. The VACCINE HELPS to minimize the veracity of the disease and its deadly effect in MOST CASES, BUT it does not STOP or CURE the disease.

Why am I saying all of this? Because I, too, have become lacks in my respect and regard for the COVID-19 virus. God recently sent me a reminder with another branch of my family contracting the disease -- almost the entire family. I was helpless.

RECOMMENDATION: Talk with someone who has survived COVID-19, then talk with their family member who had to live through the process. Just a thought.

Peace and blessings always.