I thought this might
be an interesting time to go back and see what I wrote here a year ago.
07 April 2020
Struggling to find words
You all know me, a person seldom at a
loss for words. It has been a difficult past eight years, having survived two
unrelated cancers on top of a long-term, albeit fortunately slowly progressing,
pulmonary disease. I think I have maintained a pretty good spirit and sense of
humor through it all.
But these are different times. At the
risk of sounding a bit selfish, those previous challenges were just mine, and I
was fortunately surrounded by many people who could support and care for me.
But now we are all suffering, all navigating very difficult waters. Everywhere
I look, everything I read (still with difficulty) or see on television is
focused on people who have it far worse, not only the thousands of medical
personnel who are on the front lines in hospitals, but the everyday folks who
enable us to continue to put food on our tables and provide us with many of our
everyday needs.
I do not have any good answers for
this. As we approach the first night of Passover, my usual enthusiasm for this
holiday is nowhere to be found. Over forty years ago we had our own “Passover
miracle” when our daughter born after only 28 weeks of the normal 40 survived
those early tenuous weeks. I can only hope that the first bites of matzah will
awaken some reserve of hope.
Meanwhile, we cannot let out guards
down. We need to continue to do everything we can to curb the spread of this
dreadful disease, and hope that we will get through this without too much pain.
Sadly, the only
difference between this year and last is that, now, over half a million
Americans and 2.75 million people worldwide have succumbed to this horrific
disease. I guess we are among the lucky ones: we have known a number of people
who have been infected (none of whom have died) but fortunately none of our
family members have tested positive.
Although Barry and I have both been vaccinated, our daughters will not receive their second doses until mid-April, and it is not clear just when our sons-in-law will be able to begin the process. Only our oldest grandchild is old enough to receive the vaccine, but again, it is not clear when that may become available to him. I am sure that many of you might feel that we are being excessively cautious, but this caution is necessitated by my underlying pulmonary condition. We are hoping that, as the weather improves, we will be able to travel to Sharon and spend time outdoors with the two families, who of course are still having to keep distant from each other. So, the road ahead is still long.
I have also been reminded of this during the various classes given by our synagogue that I attend on Zoom each week. The students are virtually all senior citizens, all of whom have been vaccinated at this point. As we “gather” for each class, there has been a great deal of chitchat about plans for Passover. It is just another reminder of the challenges so many are facing.
Still, at the end of the day, I am grateful to have made it to this point, a year into the pandemic, with my health still more or less intact, my marriage and connection to my family still strong, and my hope for the future still undiminished.
Stay safe and well!
Love,
Rebecca
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