Coronavirus or specifically  COVID-19, has invaded everyone’s lives all over the world.  I’ve named it the “World War III of the 21 Century. After all, nearly every country in the world is involved in doing its part to slow COVID-19 down and hopefully eliminating this common enemy. Closing off borders and self-isolating the inhabitants supposedly helps; social distancing is very evident in grocery stores, pharmacies and other needed facilities.

I’ve discovered that most humans are social animals, no matter how much some may dispute this. Fifty years ago, having “things” to occupy one’s mind or hands would have been simple. Women had crafts such as sewing, knitting, crocheting, artwork and there were always meals to plan, baking to be done and usually a garden to attend. Men had projects too–tinkering with the family car and maintaining the condition of their homes by painting and repairing. Then the weekend was over and people were back to work and/or school the following Monday.

With no schools or universities available for an indeterminate time and many work-places closed temporarily, our lives have changed in a huge way. Self-isolation was not an ordeal the first few days, but then the days stretched into a week and another week loomed, then passed into more weeks.

Human connections have never been more important for surviving during these difficult times. Today, there is Facetime, Skype and Zoom for seeing family or friends. We have our cellphones, Smartphones, laptops, desktops, notepads, ipods and probably a Dick Tracy wrist watch to listen to,  keep in touch and  be entertained. Fifty years ago, most people only had a single telephone to connect to others. At that time, party lines were still almost a way of life until a family could either afford a private line and/or private lines were already mandatory. We had television, the radio and a record player for at-home entertainment as well as board games, jigsaw puzzles and other hobbies.

During this pandemic, our hardships extends to closures of coffee bars, doughnut and pastry shops, chocolatiers and bookshops; public libraries and re creation centres. The realities of searching for needed necessities such as flour, sugar, fresh fruits and veggies plus a variety of fresh meats harkens back to my grandparents and parents’ days coping with wartime (WWII) and wartime rationing.

We have all grown to embrace our modern life-style and many have forgotten or perhaps never known truly difficult times—times when most things we take for granted today were not known or available back then.

Perhaps the hoarders and those who purchase more than they need have taught the rest of us a valuable lesson. Like my grandparents and parents learned, one has to make do with what we have. We are “spoiled” with the every day selections and easy access of the variety of  out-of-our-season fruits and veggies from countries that  grow them and export to us.

At the moment, we are all coping and enduring by whatever means we have access to. This pandemic will eventually flatten its upward curve and level off. In the meantime, as intelligent, compassionate humans with strong survival instincts, we will all be okay. We will all look out for our family, friends and neighbours and get through this. After all, we still have an amazing 21st Century to enjoy.

Keep well, stay healthy and be safe, my Friends.