What a strange time we live in, and have lived through the past 2 1/2 years. As we take time for gratitude in this season, I would like to express thankfulness to COVID. What a strange thing to do!
First, I want to acknowledge that many people have lost loved ones and experienced hardship with lost jobs and resources. I do not in any way wish to minimize their loss. Some have ongoing health issues from this illness. COVID has done a lot to polarize us as a society, with controversy and differing opinions about masks and vaccines and travel and quarantine. I do not wish to get into any of that.
What I would like to do is acknowledge some of the lessons we have learned, as a society and as individuals.
As COVID caused people to work from home, many companies and individuals have recognized that people can work remotely and be equally and even more productive, leaving more time available for the employee as commute times are gone. People can now travel and work, or live in a completely different city or out in the country! One friend we know gained 2 hours in his day when he started working from home. He used that time to walk, eventually taking up jogging. He ended up losing a significant amount of weight (50 pounds!) and at 59 years old is in the best shape of his life!
Because of COVID, I changed my work hours, from working 6 part days a week to 3 long days a week. This allowed me to offer shelter to a colleague that needed an office to practice in while she did some renovations that were needed because of COVID. That experience showed me that I could take on an associate during those hours, and we now have the amazing Dr. Corey working on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Thank you COVID!
While COVID has undoubtedly been very hard on mental health, it has also been a reason to talk about mental health- which was really already an issue! I see more comments of “Be Kind Always, everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about“. Hopefully, we are learning to be kinder and less judgmental.
I would even like to express gratitude for my experience with getting COVID. After avoiding it for 2 1/2 years, Jane and I contracted COVID last month. We were NOT asymptomatic. We each had a very challenging 5 days, but even in the midst of it, I remember feelings of gratitude. (that is when this article started to get written in my head). I came down with it before a long weekend, when I was already booked off, and while I did have to cancel on some of my practice members (my apologies again), the disruption to my schedule was minimal. Because we had been following the different protocols, we are not aware of anyone we know catching COVID from us- including our daughter who was living with us before moving to Halifax to start Law School at Dalhousie. We were grateful that she stayed healthy, but unfortunately I was supposed to fly with her that weekend as she moved in, and I had to miss that trip.
I am not saying that there weren’t some things I couldn’t choose to complain about- I missed out on a trip with my daughter and had not bought cancellation insurance, so that money was lost. However, focusing on what was lost would not help me, while focusing on that we would still get to see her at Thanksgiving made the blow much easier. I did experience significant symptoms, my throat was incredibly sore and I remember thinking that I had never been that sick before. However, I also remember thinking how grateful I was that I did not have a headache at one point, and focusing on the areas that did not have symptoms, while sucking on many popsicles and resting. I listened to some audio books and watched an entire series on Netflix, giving my body time to heal.
My personal experience with COVID made me less afraid of it as a “faceless boogey man”. I will continue to take precautions and not try and catch it again, but it showed me that my body can heal, even from COVID!
We can shake our fists at things that we don’t like, but true healing can come when we learn lessons from those things and accept them. I am not advocating for toxic positivity but encouraging you to look for those silver linings. The very act of doing so can take away their power. I choose to be grateful for my time with COVID and welcome the lessons it has taught me.