My Covid Vest

2

December 9, 2020 by bonesymackinnon

~ a follow up, posted in the Meli, December 2020

Most years we don’t notice that much of a difference between the start of a year and the end. Not this one, though. So much has changed in this turn around the sun. And for the entire world, this year’s end barely resembles its beginnings at all, and in many ways. The start seems so far away and, none of us could have foreseen what was to unfold.

I feel there was a certain ease during our first round of restrictions. While the rest of the planet reeled under the weight of growing cases and deaths, we could afford to remain somewhat upbeat, even enjoy the quieter lifestyle, and help each other through the difficulties. Come the winter, though, July revealed a completely different scenario in Victoria, and a real fear entered our collective psyche. By the end of July, when the case numbers had soared to 723 in one day, the impact across our communities had begun to deepen.

Increased restrictions brought greater hardships on individuals, on the health services, on families and on business. No-one wanted them but hindsight now tells us clearly that they were the right line of attack on this awful virus. We at least get to enjoy a Christmas together, and the economy is once again enjoying a surge.

People did it tough, though, and I couldn’t help but notice, how this disaster had driven wedges into the cracks. Differences grew exaggerated under the weight of fear and difficulty. And it took great endurance to come out this end less scathed, and I expect most of us still carry wounds of one sort or another.

Greg had worked from home since mid-March, and, rather than the more tailored attire that the office demands, he’d dress casually, donning his vest each day rather than a jacket. As the year went on, he began to refer to it as his ‘covid vest’ simply because he had worn it each day. But it struck me as a very apt name.

I think, in one way or another, we all had to don a ‘covid vest’ to get through that second wave. We all created, or had to learn ways to protect ourselves, that bolstered us from the tempest that shook our world, and indeed, the whole world. So, I think the analogy of the vest fits our situation well, even though we find ourselves in a far more relaxed time, now.

Beautiful weather accompanies our new found freedoms as we ready for Christmas. Some people will find this time less joyful because of what they have suffered, or because of loved ones they have lost, and all sorts of other damage. This Christmas will certainly be quite different, though we can be grateful for our blessings, as we pray for the vaccines to bring relief everywhere, and, in the meantime, hang our vests on the back of the chair, just in case…

Bonesy, December 2020