“Just keep swimming,” Dory, Finding Nemo
“Just keep blogging,” Joy, COVID-19
I’m so worried. I desperately want to bring my boy home as soon as possible. Even if I can’t hug him because we are currently in lockdown mode, it would be more than enough just to know that he was here, where he should be. In Fredericton. Not Toronto.
Never mind that my boy is 26 and a married man (thankfully, my daughter-in-law is here, safe and sound). That he’s been on his own for many years already and has done a stellar job of taking care of himself. His father explained when and how he’s getting home, and why that’s the best and safest way to do it. This isn’t a time for rational thought. Well okay, I guess it actually is. But my mother’s instincts are yelling at me to drop everything and bring my boy back. Now. Not in three days when Air Canada promises to give him a ride.
I live with 80 senior citizens. We’re in lockdown mode for the foreseeable future. No visitors in, and we’re to stay on the property. Even though I may not be able to hug him for weeks or even months, I still want him here. Not there.
Unprecedented indeed. We don’t even have the words to describe what is happening on a global scale. This virus is teaching us a whole new vocabulary. Social distancing. Self isolation. Presumptive. COVID-19. I even had to dictate this new word into the dictionary of the voice recognition software I use to write. I do this whenever I know I’ll be using a word or phrase often. More recently I’ve heard “Quaran-tunes” and “Quaran-tini.” There will be more. I have complete faith that this virus and these unprecedented circumstances will bring out the best in Canadians. There will be compassion, humour and down to earth smarts.
Meanwhile, I’m powerless, as usual. It’s a feeling I still rail against, but eventually accept now a whole lot quicker than I used to. I will keep my nose to the blogging grindstone and hope that March 23 comes quickly.