The View From Here – Somebody Take These Cookies – PLEASE!

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired.  Soul tired.

Even though we just had a long Thanksgiving weekend.  With camping, and turkey and stuffing and pie, pie and more pie.

Even though I just celebrated another birthday.  With cake, and messages sent from friends and family all over.

Even if I’m still working and healthy.  I feel tired.

I think it’s because I thought – maybe – by now, we would be in the clear.  This pandemic would be over.  We’d be back to normal.

But numbers are rising all around us.  More shut downs and restrictions in communities around us.  Communities where we have loved ones that we miss.

It feels like we’re going backwards. 

People are frustrated and sad and angry.  I read comments online and I feel the frustration.   People are snapping at each other, arguing with each other, blaming and shaming.

It’s been a long road. Seven long months.

We thought it would be over.

But we’re tired.  Emotionally.  Mentally. Physically.  Tired of all of it.

I remember in March making plans for a group BBQ in the summer to celebrate the “end” of it.  We never got the BBQ.  We’re still waiting for the celebration.

It weighs heavy on all of us.  Some more than others.   It certainly doesn’t help with the fall weather moving in.  Cloudy skies replacing the sunshine.

I think most of us are doing ok.  Compared to others.

Some people have lost loved ones to this virus.  Some people have had it and felt the impact.  Some people have lost jobs or had wages or hours reduced.  Some will lose their business. Their hopes and dreams.

The hurt his pandemic has caused is very real.  The mental exhaustion.  The emotional toll it’s taken is big.

We know this has taken a toll on many.  Our mental and emotional and physical health.

It was nice to be camping this weekend.  To be in the great outdoors.  Surrounded by the beautiful fall colours.  The quiet.

But around the campground the reminders –  there was masks, and signs of caution in the shared bathrooms.  A reminder to keep social distancing and washing your hands.

I try to remind myself on these hard days that there is still a reason to be thankful and a reason to smile.  But some days it’s harder than others.  When the weight is heavier.

What do you do to get through the dark days?  I can tell you I’ve already eaten half a box of mint Girl Guide cookies.  I’ve scrolled way too much online and stared out the window longer than I should when I should be working.

I worry about schools shutting down.  My kids feeling isolated from their friends.  And it’s going to be weeks if not months before I get to see my dad again, as he recovers from surgery. Another covid rule.   As nurses visit his home, he has to isolate/ quarantine. Nobody is allowed in except for the health care team.  Sigh.

I’m going to need more cookies to get through this day.  (smile)

I love to see the Halloween decorations up across the city, but I wonder how it’s going to look.  Will kids be trick or treating the same way?

I wonder how many people are afraid to share news of visiting a friend for fear of judgement.

I wonder how many people are afraid to cough or sneeze for fear of the reaction around them.

I know what we are going through is hard.  And restrictions and rules are challenging, when all we want is to go back to how it was.

My wish is that we never stop being kind to each other.  Smiling at a stranger or one of the essential workers.

The cashiers who never stopped working behind the counter.  Smiling through the plexiglass and face shields.  Taking the brunt of it from some not so kind customers.

My wish is that we remember this is temporary – even if it FEELS like forever.

Some days I feel like it’s going to be okay.  Other days, like today,  I get anxious and afraid all over again.

Some days I’m okay being out in the world, picking up a box of cookies to feed my emotions (smile).  Other days I am afraid to step outside.  Maybe not afraid, but reluctant.

We have never been through anything like this in our lifetime.

It’s uncharted territory.

I trust that the experts are doing their best to keep us all safe and to get us through this.  It doesn’t mean I always like it.  It does mean I will take precautions to help so we can get back to normal faster.

Fighting it doesn’t make it go away any faster.

We’re seven months in.  No finish line in sight.   But we got this Sarnia.

Keep looking out for each other.

Keep smiling at strangers.

Keep being the good and doing the good.

We ARE in this together.  We can GET THROUGH this together and will be stronger for it.

And if nobody stops me from eating these cookies – I’ll be 10 pounds heavier.  Please someone tell me to put the cookies down.  I beg you.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan