Dancing Through the COVID-19 Storm

Scrolling through Facebook I stumbled across an ad and read a quote the ad highlighted:

"Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain!" – Vivian Greene.

I thought that it was a nice quote and scrolled on…

But my brain kept churning that quote. Thinking of ways that it applies to today, to our current situation. All of us were dealing with the storm of Covid-19 as it rapidly took over our daily lives. For many of us life was put on pause for a couple months. We were the lucky one because a lot of lives were put on stop instead of pause.

The Covid-19 pause caused economic breakdowns, destroyed supply chains, devastated senior years for high school and college students, threatened the mental health of many. But there was good too. Many of us probably ate better than we had in years, spent more time with family than ever before, and learned to adapt to new ways of greeting and meeting with family, friends, and coworkers.

We did what humans do. We learned to survive. We learned to dance! So, the storm is passing, but the rain, the threat of Covid-19, is still here. And now we need to learn to dance in the rain.

These past several months researchers have studied the Covid-19 virus, epidemiologists have studied how it spreads, and we know so much more about it than we did in January. It is now July; I am ready to dance. The way to do that has been laid before us by the scientific community. How do you become a good dancer? You practice. And I am ready to practice all that I have been taught by those much wiser than I.

Social distancing. Its not easy. I want to hug friends and family. Shake hands with new acquaintances and business contacts, the way we always have. That is what we, Americans do. But this is a new dance. The rules are different, and we need to practice. At my last Dr. visit, we touched elbows, and it worked, we connected. Not the normal handshake but the connection was made. I can learn to dance like that.

Masks. They are uncomfortable! But they help. Possibly the next best thing to staying locked up at home. Despite all the conspiracy theories, who really cares if they are true or not, science proves that masks work. I am not talking Facebook scientists. I am talking about the kind that dedicate their lives every day to saving our lives. So, I am going to learn to dance with a face mask, in the rain, so I can enjoy everything else that is not wearing a mask, as I dance through life.

Hand washing. This was one of the first methods provided to protect ourselves. When I think about it, it was also one of the first lessons we learned as kids. Wash your hands before you eat. Wash your hands after playing with that. It should be second nature to us. I think we all complain just because someone told us to do it. And because we probably do not do it enough normally, so now it dries out our hands and is uncomfortable. Hand washing is now just part of the new dance I am learning, along with using hand lotion to soothe the irritation caused by soap and alcohol. And I will continue to practice this part of the dance so I never forget.

The best part of learning a dance incredibly well is that the skills you learn for this one will help with the next new dance you try. Its all part of being adaptable, of overcoming, of dancing in the rain, and enjoying all that life has to offer, because we learned the dance incredibly well! I hope you join me.