Three years, one month, and 20 days is the timeline from the shutdown due to COVID to when the illness shut down our home. The regulations on isolation, wearing masks, and boosters have gotten very murky and cloudy. Sadly, politics and money have created significant divisions, confusion, and distrust. I do not care what politics, money, or regulations say; I care about taking care of my family, friends, and society.
What should we have learned over the past three years, one month, and 20 days? Mostly the things we should have learned in our childhood. Things like washing our hands diligently with soap and water, covering our mouths when we sneeze or cough, and then washing our hands diligently with soap and water. Things like, if we are sick, we should stay home and things like taking care of one another.
Illness struck our home on my birthday; we had many plans during the week. All the plans changed. The thought of any of us spreading our disease to anyone was not an option. No event or moment was more important than keeping this illness contained, whether covid, the flu or even the common cold. Staying in was a small sacrifice and the right choice. Unfortunately, many have decided that their event or moment is more important than keeping people healthy.
Pink eye is a very contagious disease. It is typically harmless and often will go away on its own. I remember having it as a child, and my mother kept me and my sister home from school. I was agitated. I enjoyed school and did not like missing it. To top it all off, I wasn't "sick," well, in my childhood definition anyway. However, my mother knew better and kept us home because even though the disease posed little harm to others, it was highly contagious and the right thing to do. There were no laws stating she had to keep us home; it was just common sense and kindness to others.
When was that lost? Where has looking out for others, especially those most vulnerable, gone? Why has it become a battle to be kind and considered a weakness if you care? I do not understand what has happened to our world. I'm not too fond of what I hear and see happening to people throughout our society. In our darkest moments, I still see the light—the light of hope and the light of kindness. There is so much my parents taught me. The foundation they raised me upon is to be honest, and kind. The foundation we laid for our children is the same. We are not perfect and recognize every day is a work in progress. Looking out for one another will never be wrong.
Love Lots; Smile Often
MommaHattie