My sweet neighbour Ann compares living through the pandemic with the grief she experienced when she lost her husband, Claudio who passed away in July 2018. In both cases, she has experienced isolation, bereavement, and duress. Yet, Ann works hard to see the positive amidst the gloom. Ann and I have gotten closer in the last couple of years. I’m so grateful for her friendship, wisdom, and wicked sense of humour. We go for long walks with our senior dogs. I think of our walks as laughter therapy; we laugh until it hurts. Ann also has the floofiest and goofiest dog, Coen.
Here is her letter.
Dear Ann,
For you, the difference between pre-Covid days and the present is not significant. You see, the lines have been blurred between the two; that is, bereavement and the isolation that has resulted from this virus. Both are traumatic, each one contributing to pain, sorrow, emotional and physical duress. They work in tandem, provoking the highs and lows one feels when you’ve been beaten down.
Carpe Diem
Some days, you’ll put your best foot forward. Carpe Diem. You don’t allow this pandemic to control you, your choices, the quality of your life. Whilst on other days, you capitulate under its weight and the desolation it imposes.
Today is not much different than it was when your beloved husband, Claudio, passed. At times, you feel empty and sad.
Yet, Covid has taught us that mankind seeks truth, beauty, kindness in times of strife. That we cannot allow it to destroy our faith, our hope and our dreams. It has brought fellow people together and made us more resilient, despite all odds. We see people helping one another; men and women stretching themselves beyond physical limits.
To be fair, we also see false hope, empty promises. Leaders letting down people by misinforming the masses and keeping the public ignorant. Yet, that’s not the main takeaway. We’ve stood up to Covid. By communing together, humanity has shown that in caring for the common good, we are resilient, we are the conquerors. We are love.
Keeping positive
On a personal level, you’re trying to be more positive about life, find purpose … The news that you will become a grandmother in the spring fills your heart with joy and hope.
Now more than ever, with the Yuletide season upon us, the importance of conversation takes on new meaning. As we face the constraints imposed by the pandemic, let us use every moment we share with loved ones, family and friends this Christmas to show what our hearts feel.
_______________________________________________________________
Meet Coen, Ann’s floofy and goofy Dutch Sheep Dog. It’s impossible to get a non-blurry picture of Coen.
