DAY 21

I have been checking the Michigan.gov website daily for updates on the number of cases of covid-19. The site gives counts for each county in Michigan. It really is alarming to see how quickly the numbers are climbing, especially in densely populated areas. The county I live in has relatively few cases, and number of new cases each day is very few. Even so, in ten days we have gone from 3 cases with no deaths to 121 cases with 2 deaths. On March 30th there were 23 new cases reported. Yesterday there were 12 and today only 8. I hope that this is a sign that staying at home is making a difference. I'd hate to think that we are going through all of this for nothing. 

We will all know someone touched by this before it is over. One of my junior high school teachers has been hospitalized with the virus, as has his grandson. Yesterday I heard from someone who had a friend lose both of her parents on the same day to the virus. The family had to sit Shiva for them via Zoom since they cannot do it in person. This is heartbreaking beyond anything I could ever have imagined. To lose someone you love and then not even be allowed to grieve and hold the traditional rituals with others - there are no words. My heart aches for the world. 

I have been thinking a lot over the last few days about families in war torn countries who live with this kind of fear and uncertainly every single day, for years on end. About children who grow up never knowing anything but hunger and despair. This crisis will certainly end for us at some point, but how long will it take to recover emotionally from the trauma? What stories will Miss Nine be telling her grandchildren about this time in her life?

My grandmother lived through the depression and two world wars. She talked about the effects of deprivation until she died in her 80s. I know it made her strong and thrifty. I only hope that we all learn and grow from this experience and go on to make the world a better, safer place for those who come after us.