Dear reader,

            It has been one year since the COVID-19 pandemic began to wreak havoc with humanity.  In this year we have experience much hardship, pain, and loss.  We have learned many lessons; some of those lessons knocked the wind out of us, some came too late for us to do anything about them and some were just there, patiently waiting for us to notice.  We were forced to adjust, learn to work and study remotely, wear masks and keep “6 feet apart” social distance meant to help us contain the spread of the virus.  We learned to keep in “virtual” touch with our loved ones, and stay home unless it is absolutely necessary to go outside.  Well, this was the case for most of us.  And if we pay attention to everything that has happened this year, we can see very clearly that the single most important thing in life is the time we spend with those closest to our hearts, human connection. 

From the beginning we heard scientist say that this pandemic would affect our way of life for months, maybe even years… yet most of us ignored them.  We tried to keep going as if the confinement would end in a few days, a couple of weeks at worst, and impatiently complained about having to spend all day at home with the kids, the spouse, even the pets.  We complained a lot.  This is where it got weird for me as I could never complain about my home or my family.   For the first three months I continued to work from the office while it seemed that everyone around me was home.  I did not share their sentiment, on the other hand, I wished I was home too because my children struggled to adjust to so many changes and no longer counted with the support and resources available at school to help them manage their new school routines.  I attended many parent teacher meetings from the office or my car, I continue to advocate for my children from afar, I made myself available to facetime with them as much as possible, I helped with school work and technical issues almost every day for the first month of quarantine.  I tried to be there; I WAS there.  Virtual life took over, and we had to make it work.  School for me was virtual too, so being connected was an all-day-long deal.  In the evenings I attended my classes virtually, taking advantage of virtual learning from home next to my family.  My boys never complain, respect my class time, and watch me while I study and listen to online lectures.  They are watching how I handle my time, my work, my priorities.  They are watching and learning.  They are home, they are safe, they have food, Wi-Fi, they continue to adjust.  I am thankful, I truly am.  They are healthy, they are here, they can complain about school, they can bicker all day.  They ARE here.  So many can not say the same about their loved ones, about 2.7 million people are estimated to have died worldwide thus far, and so many without getting the chance to say goodbye.  From food insecurity, domestic violence to loss of work, homes and lives, this year has been rough for many of our fellow humans, yet we complain about being confined to a cozy home with our loved ones, until they are no longer there for us to complain about or when we don’t know if we will ever go back home and be there for them.  What a lesson to learn.

Multitudes have flocked social media and the internet to use their time at home for entertainment, to learn something new, to finally try to set up their new business, to dream of the future.  Grandparents are now YouTube and Zoom experts, they will do anything for their little babies, specially keep themselves safe for them.  We have all made changes, we have all evolved.  Through pain and loss, we keep on moving.  Through the distance we continue to reach out to each other and share our time.  In the end, it is all we have, it is all we will take with us. 

Ps. Essential workers, you have been our lifeline, thank you!