Try these

The first Reporter stories on the COVID-19 Pandemic were in early March. One reported that schools would be out until “at least March 23” and added the qualifier “Count on it being longer, perhaps much longer.”

Little did we know then, huh?

We are about to hit the five-month mark of pandemicness and there’s no relief in sight. Fatigue has set in with some of us, and that’s certainly understandable as the numbers climb daily.

By this time is there anyone who doesn’t know what we are supposed to do, frankly just about the only things we can do? Wear masks, socially distance, wash our hands. Please do.

But what else are we supposed to do as our hearts and minds wage a mental war against an enemy we can’t engage? Try these:

• Look at the sun rising every morning and be grateful we have made it this far and have faith we will see another one tomorrow.

• Marvel at the technology that enables us to be in contact with loved ones and relatives—those may even be the same people—though we don’t yet feel we can safely be with them in person.

• Even if you don’t agree with them, try not to doubt the skill, and above all the dedication, of those leaders at all levels who try to make the tough, perhaps impossible, decisions trying to keep us all safe without destroying our society.

• Don’t take for granted all those people working two or three shifts, and in some cases risking their lives, in the health care industry.

• Ditto for all those workers we hardly think about who keep shelves stocked with groceries, repair our appliances, maintain communications and a thousand other necessities—and some sheer luxuries—on which we have come to rely.

• Pray for our school officials, especially teachers. You know that “face-to-face” learning we are about to experience in a couple of weeks? It involves their faces. They don’t want to get sick any more than we want our kids to.

• No matter what your political views, try not to demonize those on the other side when they express their opinions about COVID-19. A virus wants a host, not a vote.

• Live your life. Maybe when there’s something unseen out there with the potential to take it away this is a good opportunity to focus on how precious and miraculous our lives really are.—M.B.