The Covid-19 epidemic has affected everyone during 2020. Many have seen family members fall ill and in some cases, die from this insidious virus. Others have lost jobs and are suffering financial hardship through no fault of their own. Even if your family wasn’t as direly impacted, no one has gotten away unscathed. Graduations, baptisms, showers and weddings cancelled, dreams put on hold. We’re no longer allowed to play proper respect at funerals. Schools have been closed with the responsibility for education thrust upon parents. Parks, playgrounds, pools, amusements, theaters, and sports facilities shuttered. We haven’t been allowed to meet a friend for lunch, get a haircut, or attend our place of worship. I am not implying the shutdown wasn’t necessary, especially since my husband and I are “of a certain age” with serious medical conditions. But now that restrictions are lifting, I’ve come to three observations about American personalities.
We are impatient by nature. We can follow the rules for only a certain length of time. After that we want everything to go back to normal, myself included. We might be able to survive three months without a haircut, but not six. My British friends are still under lock-down and thriving better than my neighbors here. A summer without block parties? A fall without football? No hayrides, no Christmas caroling, no taking grandkids to see Santa at the mall? Enough is enough.
We don’t mind suggestions, but please don’t tell us what to do. We are far more independent than the rest of the world. If you observed the streets of Paris or Rome after lockdown was imposed, not a “creature was stirring.” Not the case in many parts of the US.
We don’t like living with uncertainty. We want definite answers and solutions to our problems. We don’t like all these ideas being tossed around regarding treatments or possible vaccines. Are masks good or bad or somewhere in-between? Everyone has an opinion but no one seems to have an answer.
God has the answer. God knows how this will play out and asks only that we trust Him and be patient. Not just for the month or June or the rest of summer, but until we feel safe again. And I know just how hard that can be.
These were my opinions. Please leave me a comment with yours.
My News? The Amish Sweet Shop, recently nominated for a National Readers’ Choice Award. You can find it in print, large print or e-book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or just about any other format. Happy Reading, Mary Ellis
Mary’s latest book is Island of Last Resorts. : Cut off from the outside world on a private island, can a crack team of investigators solve a cold-case murder before a rich madman picks them off one-by-one?
Mary Ellis's Home Thoughts 
I couldn’t agree more! Enough is enough. Be careful, but use our own wisdom on what is best for us. Good post.