Four Years

Today marks the day that the world closed up, shut down, went home, closed the door, sheltered in place. Yes, it was on this date in 2020 that the WHO gave the directive that we were all to stay home for our own safety. We were told that by staying apart, the virus might be squelched, stopped, or at least diminished. Four years. In s0me ways it feels like it was yesterday. It other ways it feels like it was an eternity ago. Not sure how you might remember it but in my memory at least a couple of them feel like lost years.

This afternoon, on CBC radio’s Cross Country Check Up, the question asked was, “What do you remember about the first week of the pandemic?” That sent me down memory lane. The first thing that came to mind was the phone call I had to make. The Church Council held a hastily called meeting after church. The conversation was reluctant and disbelieving as we made the tough decision to close the church for, we thought, a couple of weeks until the threat was over. As a result of that decision I had to phone a member whose husband had just died. He had been a member of the church for his 90+ years. He had sung in the choir for 75 years. He was an active community member and a life-long resident. It was fully expected the church would be full at the time of his funeral service. I had to phone his widow and say we could not have his service. One of the hardest calls I have ever had to make.

That call was really just the tip of the iceberg when it came to changes and alterations that we all had to make for months and months. We became fanatical about cleanliness. We washed our hands, we washed our clothes. We washed our groceries. The one time I did have Covid someone came to the door to drop something off. I answered and said, “I have covid.” She literally jumped off the front step and stood out in the lawn, so afraid of the contagion. We could not go to movies or concerts or plays. Children couldn’t play with other children. We couldn’t visit the elderly in homes. People in hospital died alone. It was a terrible time.

While it seems dramatic to say that staying at home for months was difficult, it was. Forced confinement especially when it happens abruptly can be very challenging. Oh sure, it varied depending on people’s lifestyle; some loved it, some hated it, some endured it, some learned to bake bread!

The impact of the virus has had long term effects which are both positive and negative. Many of us learned new ways of connecting through technology. Church services, which at one time required in person attendance, can now be enjoyed by zoom or online and most congregations offer it as a matter of course now. Wearing a mask when you have a bit of a cold or are protecting your own health is not looked upon with surprise (or scorn!) Hand washing has become de rigueur. I seldom hold a hand rail with my bare hand – who knows who else has touched it! Hugging and shaking hands is done with caution. Many find the option of working from home more productive and often more suiting to lifestyle choices. Of course the lingering impact of those years of social disruption also carry some scars. Businesses failed. Weddings and funerals were cancelled and those high moments of life cannot be recreated. Churches have had to close as people just didn’t come back. People lost some social skills. There is an edge to some social interactions now that seem out of proportion. And of course that threat of illness looms large for many of us. A simple cold leaves us immediately asking, “Oh no, do I have covid?”.

Four years can seem like an eternity or it can pass in an instant. For me a couple of those years feel like lost years, time evaporated. They carry neither happy memories or sad memories. They are just time gone with little to show for it. I am not sure how to offer theological reflection around those years. In scripture they might be described as wilderness years. Wandering time. Reflection time. Perhaps in the long view they will feel like that. For now it remains a time to reflect upon. How about you? What do you remember about that time four years ago? Does it remain for you a positive or negative or somewhere-in-between time?