Things have been more normal lately. At the beginning of the pandemic I avoided going out unless absolutely necessary. I remember one of my first trips out was to an ophthalmologist at MCV, and that was only because she had to examine my eyes. I wore a mask and gloves. The doctor was dressed like she was going to surgery; mask, gloves, shield, gown and cap. She stood as far away from me as she could in the exam room. And when she had to examine my eyes through the machine, she asked me not to speak while she was this close. She also didn't speak until she was back in her corner. It was a scary time.
But now, it all seems so normal. In the past few months, I attended live events and gone to the movies. I have eaten at restaurants and visited museums. I have socialized with small groups of vaccinated people in their homes and mine. And I have traveled and stayed in hotels and resorts. With the exception of church, it's just like it was before COVID, except for wearing a mask and using more hand sanitizer.
So this is how the pandemic ends, restrictions are being lifted all over the world. As we move forward and do what we believe is best for us and for our families, some families, like mine will choose masks and vaccines. Others will choose neither or just one of those. But whatever the choice, my prayer is that we remain respectful of the choices of others. At the beginning of the pandemic I was hopeful that we, as a nation, would come together to see COVID as a common enemy that could be defeated together. But sadly, division and outright lies, were sown from the very top.And because of that we continue to experience the highest rate of cases and deaths in the world. As of today, there have been 78.4 million cases and 935 thousand deaths.
This is how it ends; not with a bang, but with a whimper. We learned so many things during this pandemic and continue will continue to learn more. I'll address that in another post. But one thing we must remember is that no matter what, God is still in charge!