So we are nearing the end of April on this journey with coronavirus.
it reminds me of all the hikes that I went with my girls for several reasons. My oldest was the one that always asked are we there yet? It was normally followed with a can’t we just turn around. Then I would have to explain that we were about half-way so turning around would be as long as going forward. And we already saw what that part of the trail looked like. Keep going forward and we can see something different.
I watch the briefings by the governors almost every day. I watch Ohio and Kentucky. I read the news about other countries and their experiences with their coronavirus journeys. I like reading personal accounts because to me those are more honest.
So for all the governors briefings online there are the chats going on from all the people on the webcast. All the grown-ups asking the same question and a lot of them not so nicely – it sounds more like when will we open back up? How much longer do we need to do this? When can we go back to work? When can kids go back to school? When can we stop this? None of the numbers that they gave us, none of the modeling looks like what we is going on. Our numbers are a lot lower. Why do we have to keep doing this? The models were lying. What they are really asking is “Are we there yet?”
And I watch all this and I think yes we are there yet. We got to that place on the coronavirus journey that we were headed to. A place where the numbers are pretty constant and stable. No big spikes. No big hills or mountains. That was the goal, that was what we were working toward. It isn’t dramatic. The point was to prevent as much drama as possible. We are here and hopefully we will be here on this plateau for awhile. There is no spectacular anything about getting here other than knowing that we bought time and understanding that was the goal.
Hopefully the plateau will be long enough to continue buying time for the monitoring that will need to happen to keep us safe. Enough time for the doctors and nurses and hospitals and people studying this to learn more about the best ways to treat this virus.
And just like a hike it is hard being here because we can’t see the end. It is somewhere in the distance. We can’t see where the plateau ends and becomes trees again. It is like looking out over an endless desert. And that is hard.
I remember pointing out the car in the parking lot as soon as it came into view to give my daughter the assurance that we were there yet. But we don’t have that physical marker. The finish line for this coronavirus journey is going to be very subtle. I think it will be slow and incremental. I think it will be quiet celebrations of people coming back out to a different world than when everything shut down. Hopefully the world will be more careful and we will be more gentle with each other. Because when we get to that place many of us will have been touched by the virus. It will have touched us or someone that we know.
So for now I am going to be content with the knowledge that yes, we are there yet. We are keeping the curve flat. It is much easier to hike when the trail is flat. Stay healthy and well. Hugs.