What just happened?

 "Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone"

Joni Mitchell, from "Big Yellow Taxi"

Things have been weird for over 2 years now. Sometimes I feel like Rip Van Winkle waking up from a long sleep, unaware of all the changes that have taken place while we were cocooned at home, avoiding Covid.

 It has lately become apparent that these life-altering sea changes are probably not temporary like we originally thought they were.  After two years, the very fiber of our world has indeed been transformed...and not in a good way. 

If you scroll back in this blog, you can read a blog entry I made during the early days of this Covid nightmare. I speculated about how our lives might change, but at that time, I had no earthly idea how much. Let's look at a few areas that have been impacted.

Death

All of the traditional practices that go along with grieving a loved one have changed. This observation is actually what prompted the writing of this article today.  A dear friend lost her husband, and it seemed most of the bereavement process was happening on social media. 

Funerals have been postponed throughout the pandemic, and they are still rare now. When there is a service, most people feel none of the former guilt or compulsion to attend because of the "avoidance of crowds" mindset. 

Bringing funeral food to the house is now unheard of, even here in the South, where it has long been an artform. The recipients probably would not eat it anyway because of virus worries. We just leave a comment on Facebook, one and done.

 

 Death has become a quiet slipping into eternity without even a grave to remember the person. How many times have you read this phrase in an obituary during the past two years:  "A private memorial service will be planned in the near future." Will there be a point in time where all these old norms will be restored? I doubt it.

Birth

Gone are the warm, happy gatherings in waiting rooms and halls of the Birthing Center, bringing inlaws and outlaws together to celebrate a new baby. In some places since the pandemic, Mom had to be all alone to face this frightening time.  Thankfully, my daughter did get to have her husband with her, but it was quite worrisome what covid restictions would be in place when delivery time arrived. Waiting at home, we felt robbed of this grandparent's rite of passage and anxious for our daughter.

Medical Care 

Our medical institutions are hovering on a precipice already due to the shortage of nurses.  Pending the outcome of the nursing salary cap legislation, it could get dangerously worse. Many hospitals don't have beds, and even more hospitals don't have staff to serve beds, so wings are closed.

Most people are avoiding basic procedures even since hospitals resumed elective surgery. The staff shortage along with fear of contracting Covid have prevented time-sensitive care that is being postponed. Even routine tests are being postponed for the same reasons. 

Emergency room horror stories are all over social media.  An overwhelmed staff are making previously unheard of adjustments to accomodate sick people and wait times are staggering.  A family member who recently rushed to the ER with heart attack symptoms actually met with the doctor in the supply closet!

Americans have NEVER been at a point where medical care could literally be unavailable. Looking back, do you recall when we complained about an hour or two waiting in the Emergency Room?

Church

It is almost surreal that the freedom to worship has been hindered more than ever before. Most people probably don't care because they don't attend worship services anyway. Who would have ever thought that singing in church would ever be outlawed like it was in California for a period.  

When attending services, when they began to be held, there were changes that were immediately apparent.  No offering plates were passed to avoid passing germs. Communion became a disposable packet instead of the beautiful silver articles reverently covered in a pristine white cloth.

 Evening services were cancelled in many places, as though Covid only comes out after dark. Will Sunday morning continue to be the only service? Oddly, one local church continued to have hand-shaking and hugging time as the prayer list for Covid patients grew longer and longer. However, most churches quickly discontinued this and will probably never reinstate the practice.

Pot luck suppers haven't become obsolete yet, but many don't attend for fear of germs. (Many people have not been comfortable with pot luck for a long time before Covid.) 

Instead of sitting near someone to make them feel welcome and included, worshippers have started seeking the"safest " place to sit, far away from others, especially those with  hacking coughs. The whole complexion of the sanctuary has changed. It is likely that this will be the new church experience.

The New Normal

So, as we begin the third year since the arrival of this "robber virus," the future looks a bit brighter, although experts still discuss the possibility of the virus continually morphing from one strain to a new one.  Natural immunity is actually being acknowledged; restrictions on masking and gathering are relaxing gradually. Sadly, many parts of the life we once knew will probably never return.