So Over COVID!

Photo Credit: Gabriel Benois on Unsplash

We are so very over Covid -19 — Zoom meetings, air hugs, frightful news, conflicting information, data overload and face masks — All of it!  We long for real gatherings, real hugs, and the freedom to breathe in the air without worry.

We have been fortunate to be able to go to work and stay healthy.  Our hearts go out to our readers who put in 40 hour workweeks while home-schooling kids.  To our Teachers we all thank you!  To essential workers, we pray for your health and safety.  To those who have lost the security of a job and loved ones, we can’t begin to imagine your pain.

MF:  I find I miss human touch during these unfortunate times.  “I need a hug!”  How often do we hear or see that on Facebook?  COVID-19 has turned human touch into the worst villain at a time when we need the compassion expressed in physical touch the most.  Something as simple as a handshake, a high 5 to a graduate or a hug from a grandchild has become potentially deadly.  Even the once acceptable ‘elbow bump’ now violates the 6 foot rule.

Unable to offer reassuring touch at work and confronted with significantly ‘masked’ facial expressions, I concentrate on reading reactions through eyes and body language.  I am more attentive to my tone of voice and choice of words to connect with the hearts and minds of patients and co-

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workers.  I crave a quick break where Tom and I can sneak off, sanitize and hug each other or ‘doff’ our masks for a quick kiss.  When we come home from work we both find physical touch essential in our relationship.  Whether it is sitting next to each other on the couch, intentionally butt-bumping while preparing a meal in the kitchen, or a relaxing neck or foot rub.  Snuggling in bed has become as vital to us as brushing our teeth.  I am even more patient with the cats nudging the computer off my lap, insisting on a chin or belly rub.

TOM:  It is our hope that when this is all over, we can close the door on COVID -19 and recognize this time as an interim moment in life, horrible and sad as it is.  I look forward to hanging out with friends and family and sharing a meal together.  I crave safe travel to cuddle grand babies born during this pandemic.  I long to hug our adult kids, to wrestle with and tickle little ones.

Photo Credit: Anastasia Vityukova on Unsplash

When this is all over, Life will be different.  But will we be a better people, more appreciative of human interaction? Will this time have shaped our values and what we define as our needs?  What silver lining will you take away from this period of quarantine?  What will you most appreciate when we leave our virtual Zoom confines and can freely dance with each other in the real world?  Will it be human touch?  A lessening of fear?  Laughter?  A return of financial security and social freedoms?  How will this period of quarantine change you?