I haven’t written in awhile because it’s hard to know what to say and some days I don’t even have the energy to try. I have a feeling many of you are feeling much the same. In March, I felt confident that we would be on the other side of the global pandemic in a few weeks. The “two-week” shutdown would take care of it all and be lifted in “just a few days.” Remember when that was the hope? Here we are five months later and I’m wondering if everyone is feeling as weary and defeated as I.
School started back for my kiddo last week and it was a weird way to start. I don’t even know what her teacher looks like, thanks to the mask. There was lots of talk about “new rules” and “social distancing” and all I could think about is how my kid is just seven and needs to learn how to add.
I’m weary. The toll a pandemic takes shouldn’t just be counted in deaths, but in emotional defeat, as well, in which case the “survival” rate would look a little different. We may survive, but none of us are without a few scars.
Perhaps I’m weary because I work in a job where we try hard to get you the news that is happening around us. That’s an honor you’ve given to each of us, and I respect it, but I also don’t get to check out of it, either. I know you also are inundated with bleak reports on the world we live in- from emotional social media shares to constant news reports.
Perhaps I’m weary because my husband and I also own a small business that has been completely impacted. When you start a new business there are dreams and visions and we could’ve never anticipated how one day to the next those would be totally blown away like the dust. Now we fight to survive.
Perhaps I am just weary because this year has seemed like one hard blow after the next with little time to find any kind of balance in between.
How has it impacted you? Perhaps you are the Pollyanna that finds joy in all things. I wish I was more like that. I’ve always known I wanted to be in the media, and when I was a little girl, I said that I would grow up to be the first “good news reporter.” Thankfully, I get to work for a media source that wants to be the difference. In the constant flow of oncoming coronavirus news, it can be hard though to not personally feel overwhelmed with the information. Someone reminded me of that little girl recently, and I remembered how I want to be the one to find the good news that sometimes gets missed in allll the constant flux of information. When we can pause to just focus on the fact that good news does exist, it gives me a little more energy and a little more hope. It takes my deflated and defeated and tired self and gives me just the little bit of light I need to carry on.
So, if you’re weary, here’s a little good news for you on the pandemic front. In Georgia, our statewide cases have dropped 22% over the last two weeks. The positivity rate of tests is on the decline and the mortality rate continues to fall.
The CDC also just issued a statement this week that “COVID-19 poses relatively low risks to school-aged children.” Children are far more likely to die of the flu. Also, they said that data shows that the risk of infection from students to teachers is “relatively low.” So those of us with kids in school can breathe a little easier. That should make teachers breathe a little easier, too.
I prefer to deal with facts. The loud horns of emotional energy from those around me blare in my ears so loudly that it’s hard to stop and listen to the small truths that are a lot quieter, and perhaps harder to find. It's hard to hear when every person on social media considers themselves to be the source we should listen to. For instance, when you hear that 215,528 people have tested positive, that’s alarming! I keep seeing posts from well-meaning friends who keep talking about the positive cases, But what you don’t hear is that over 2 million 5 thousand tests were administered. Only 10% of tests are coming back positive. We are doing significantly more testing, so that automatically means a significant increase of positive cases, as well.
I’m not downplaying COVID-19. It exists. It’s real. So many of you know someone who has been impacted, or even died. I’m sorry for that. I know it’s serious, but it’s also important to get the full picture. When news gets reported, periods often get put where commas should be. For example, a few weeks ago a Georgia youth camp made national news when 260 kids all tested positive for coronavirus. It was alarming, especially so close to school starting to think that maybe coronavirus spreads among children faster than we initially thought! But of all the articles I read from large, national news sources, so many failed to mention that of all those kids, only half reported any actual symptoms, and those that did had minor, cold-like symptoms, according to the final report. None of those children were seriously impacted.
So, while I don’t want my kids to get any disease of any kind, I also need to manage my fear with a healthy dose of the reality of how kids are actually impacted. The fact that they get it is not enough. I must also balance that with how our children’s bodies respond to it. The good news for today is that children respond to this with an ease that older adults do not. That comforts me as my daughter bounces through the halls of her schools learning reading and writing and math and science. I hope her teacher is able to focus on those subjects and not the pandemic.
A pandemic, even the word alone makes me shutter, can bind and suffocate and grab our hearts if we are not careful. Let’s seek to be the good news. Yes, the bad news is out there, but there are plenty of other people willing to share that. So, while my job determines that, if the bad news is out there, I’m here and ready to share it so you know what is going on, I also feel it’s my job to say, hey, the good news is out there, too. It’s not all gloom and doom.
Since the national coronavirus numbers peaked on July 24 at 74,818 cases, we have declined significantly. On August 14, just a little over three weeks later, the national cases were at 56,729. The numbers are trending downward across the U.S. pretty significantly across most states. That’s good news.
I think the key to making it through dark days is finding joy, playing the glad game, if you will, in the things where we can. In a world full of news – murders and riots and thefts - I’m grateful to work at a place where we all want to share the good news, too. In a world full of darkness, let’s be the light. I want to honor that little girl who wanted to share the good news with the world. That’s what I want my blog to do… share some joy and light… one day it may be about my kids or my chickens, or my faith, but it’s all about finding some light in a dark world. Today, take courage. We will recover. This is just a season and there is light closer than we may think. If you are weary, as I am, hang in there. We will get through it together.
