This year is almost one third gone, yet it is not really much different from the last 13 months in terms of daily routine and ongoing restrictions due to the pandemic. We are well entrenched in the third wave of COVID-19 with added shut-downs in the past week as well as new school closures. Ontario hospitals are cancelling elective surgeries and our Post Anaesthetic Care Unit is once again being converted into a third ICU. It is expected that we will be receiving patients from the Toronto area into the expanded Critical Care units. My work contract was extended for a third time last week and goes until the end of September. I am grateful to have something useful to do and appreciate the opportunity to interact with people when so many others are isolated in their homes. Hopefully by the time my contract ends in the fall, enough people will have been vaccinated to bring transmission of the virus under control.
Today is a day off work and spring is in full swing. After several warm days, we are experiencing a gentle mixture of snow, sleet and rain with temperatures just above the freezing point. The local trails have been overly busy as indoor activies remain restricted, but few people were out in today's weather. And the woods did not disappoint, with a fresh green haze and spring ephemerals beginning their short flowering season. Bloodroot blooms were at their peak with their large leaves curling around the delicate flower stems to protect them from the cold. We found one blooming Trout Lily and a few Wake Robins as well as one Spiderman!
Nature demonstrates its resilience each year as new life springs out of death. Eilene Zimmerman wrote an article as part of a series on resilience for the New York Times last year. She defined resilience as
"the ability to recover from difficult experiences and setbacks, to adapt, move forward and even experience growth".
Stress and loss is not all bad and can be a starting place for building strength and experiencing personal growth. Resilience comes from within ourselves as we dwell on the positives and remain flexible in our thinking.
The pandemic will end and I am optimistic that there will be ongoing positive changes in the future as we reflect on the lessons learned during this time.
I do agree that not all is bad news with the pandemic. We can learn and grow even during this time. Having said that, I can’t wait for somewhat more of a normal life again.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think we will appreciate “normal” in a new way when this is over.
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