A little optimism goes a long way
I had the occasion recently to speak with a friend that I hadn’t seen in a while — well before COVID-19 took hold.
We were talking about the pandemic and how it has affected our lives. She shared with me how the virus has made her very anxious. Not only on a personal level, but on a professional level as well.
My friend works in the medical field. She has worked for more than 30 years and she said never before has she been so concerned about working closely with the public.
My friend acknowledged that there are many government-mandated protocols in place in her workplace. She said that while that does ease her mind, there are still nights when she has trouble sleeping thinking about what could be.
I thought about what my friend said and understood that she is fully justified in feeling like she does, especially given her line of work. I realized that her experiences as they relate to the virus are much different than mine.
As the owner of a small business, I go to work each day optimistic that it is going to be a good day. My expectation is that those who visit my gift shop are doing what they need to do to keep themselves and other people safe.
I have never been the type to worry unless of course I have something to worry about. With respect to the pandemic, I am of the mind that as long as I am doing what the experts tell me I need to be doing to stay safe, I will be fine.
I reflected on the conversation I had with my friend and the anxiety she was feeling toward the pandemic. I realized that people react differently to certain situations. While I choose to deal with things one day at a time, and worry about things when I need to, there are others who take a different approach.
All these months later we are hearing reports of more and more people having issues with their mental health because they are uncertain as to how and when this will end. We must respect and understand the difficulty others are having dealing with this unprecedented situation.
There were times early in the pandemic while out gro
cery shopping or doing bank work when I would think, “Wow, if this thing ever hits Cape Breton we are in trouble.” It seemed to me that there were a lot of people out and about despite the emergency measures put in place. In the beginning, it appeared that we just weren’t doing what the health and medical experts told us we should be doing.
While I may have had my concerns in the beginning as to how we would fare here on the island if we were exposed to the virus in larger numbers, I am now of the opinion that not only are we as Cape Bretoners doing what we need to do to stay safe, we are excelling at it.
We are the envy of Nova Scotia and indeed the rest of Canada. Rarely do you see anyone out without a mask, people are maintaining their social distance, sanitizing their hands and they are, for the most part, staying within their bubble.
Now that a vaccine has been rolled out, albeit it slowly, people can rest assured that the pandemic will indeed end. Perhaps not right away, but I am optimistic that by late spring or early summer life as we knew it before COVID-19 will return.
As we wait to be vaccinated, we must continue to do our part to keep COVID19 at bay. New cases are still being reported daily in Nova Scotia and numbers are expected to rise over the next few days as a result of people not adhering to proper protocols during holiday gettogethers.
In these early days of 2021, I am confident that if we continue to implement the safety measures that were put in place at the start of the pandemic, we can look forward to hugging the ones we love sooner rather than later.