As we sit here, mid-March, in the midst of a pandemic, I can't help but wonder what has happened to our world. How have we become so consumed in our own lives, our own town, our own communities, and our own country, that we have failed to see the world just outside our window. We have failed to see how our lives, our actions, our behaviors, and our decisions directly impact others. We have adopted the mentality of "not our monkey, not our circus" kind of attitude, when in fact we are all part of that traveling circus, and we all play a part in the act. The mentality that it "won't happen to us", and "that will never happen here", sticking our heads in the sand, and failing to acknowledge all the warning signs despite mass publicity is astonishing.
Although I do think the constant media coverage is overwhelming and all consuming, and dare I say hysterical, the truth is we are at war. We are at war against an enemy that does not discriminate by age, gender, race, nationality, economic or social class, and has no agenda. An enemy that does not strike right away, but rather goes undercover for weeks before attacking. An enemy that will not only attack the human body but the entire health care system, the government, the economy, the education systems, and will effectively paralyze each community it come in contact with. An enemy that is so rapidly evolving, no one has been able to contain it, or understand it, despite heroic efforts thus far.
As I watched my son wash his hands today, while singing "Happy Birthday" out loud, I saw a look on his face I haven't seen very often. For a child that is usually independent, carefree, spirited, and lives life to the fullest without a worry in the world, I saw worry in his face. He asked me if he had to go to school today, because he was worried about getting sick. He asked me if my parents were going to be able fly home from their Florida vacation, or if they would be stuck there forever as he had heard about airlines shutting down. He asked me why I had to go to work in Boston, when he had heard the 'virus' was there. He asked me if I had taken care of any patient with the 'virus' in the Emergency Room, if I was going to catch it, and if I was going to die. As he finished washing his hands, and as I tried to settle his worries, the power of fear and panic became so clear.
Whether talking about large problems or small, our children are watching, our children are listening, and our children are looking to us for guidance. They overhear conversations, they are on social media, they pick up on body language, see fear in our faces, and they notice changes in routines. They rely on us to be the calm in the storm, they expect us to know all the answers, and they expect us to be brave. We may never have all the answers to all their questions and we may have moments of being afraid, and that's ok, but we have to teach them in those moments how to listen, stay calm, be flexible, and follow instructions. We have to teach them how to be prepared in the face of the unknown, and make rational decisions using the most accurate information we have available to us today. We can not act in fear, we can not panic, for panic creates nothing but a cascading effect of disaster and chaos.
The truth is this. The trip to Disney you had planned for months, the youth playoff basketball game, the birthday party you had coming up, the semester abroad, spring hockey tryouts, the fundraiser you were going to run, and the conference you were going to attend, do not matter. We have to look beyond our own personal needs and wants, our own agendas, our own families, our own communities, and our own country. We have to look up at the world outside our windows. Although we may not be at risk, although we may not have any chronic health issues, although we may be outside the age range of highest effected patients, and although we may have no contact with anyone effected, I can assure you there are people you know, people you love, and people you care about who do.
So stay home, stay calm, cover your mouth and wash your hands. This is no time to panic, our kids, our families, our communities, and our world needs us.
