As I sit on my porch writing, you would never know there is a pandemic occurring. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the wind is keeping my flags unfurled. The dogs leisurely lay by my side, sighing every so often so that I know they still stand guard if I need them. Today is like most writing days for me, and to be quite honest, it’s been very relaxing.
However, there is a pandemic encapsulating our world and there is no hiding that fact. But here’s what I was thinking as I took my dogs for a walk into town and listened to the church bells chime and the distant train whistles blow… today is like a time long ago when I was young. Peaceful and relaxing. People smile as you pass them, three feet or more away, and there seems to be an easiness about the atmosphere that takes me back forty years.
My children never knew that world. That world of quiet days reading under a tree or playing outside till the sun faded into the ground. They never knew the grocer on the corner that knew everyone’s name or let you have a piece of candy when you didn’t have enough money to pay. It makes me sad when I think that they missed a world that, although had its wars, was relatively innocent. It was a world of family game playing, sitting around listening to music together, and summer days running through sprinklers to cool off. It was a simpler time without the endless noise of cars roaring by and buildings blocking the sun in cities too big now to sustain themselves. It was a time where technology was in its infancy. Where televisions were rare and computers graced the walls of large buildings.
I grew up in house with four brothers, a mother, a father and a dog. We spent our hours out of school playing, reading or writing quietly in our rooms. We ate dinner together every night and being together was not a bad thing. There were times when my military father would take us off to distant countries where we explored and embraced new cultures and histories. We were like sponges, taking in new experiences every day to shape us and mold us into fulfilled adults. We were self-sustaining. We did not need a phone in our hand, music in our ears and a hoody over our heads. We were experiencing life and we relished every minute of it.
Which brings me to the Pandemic. No matter what catastrophic event happens in the world, we as humans always learn from it. Something always positive comes out of it, as well. I’d like to think that the positive “thing” that comes out of this tragic event, is that people realize that it’s okay to slow down and enjoy life. It’s okay to find out that playing games and reading together can be fun. It’s okay to find out that just sitting in silence and hearing yourself breathe is a good thing for one’s soul. We all have to be good citizens and remain isolated from our jobs, friends and loved ones. But it is a rebirth of a nation happening quietly in each city and state of our great nation. People are opening their minds to life at a slower pace, without material things at our fingertips, and endless nights out on the town. We, as a nation, are finding ourselves.
Our jobs and businesses may disappear, but spending precious time with family and pets and calling those who are alone are far than priceless in the big scheme of things. We are reconnecting, taking time to do things we once did forty years ago. We take walks, we play games, we talk…. It gives me hope that we will all be better for having gone through this tragic time, and it makes me smile to know that my children just might get a glimpse of what is truly important in life.
