Learning to Live with Coronavirus

If you had to guess when do you think we will actually get to the point where COVID-19 is no longer something we talk about?

I say this because I woke up this morning with the thought that every single day in some fashion the pandemic dominates our lives.  You simply cannot escape it and even if your mind allows you to shut it out for a while it’s not long before the reality of what we are dealing with sets back in.

Let’s face it. The weather used to always be a conversation starter and certainly that would be the case today for us as we deal with a heat wave in New Jersey.  However even the weather has to take a back seat to the coronavirus or if you want you can actually combine the two by saying something like, “wearing a mask is even more uncomfortable when it’s as hot as it is now.”

Like I said. You can’t escape it.

The pandemic has its grips on us in all directions: health, money, school, sports, employment, and constant worry about the future.  It simply dominates most of what is on our minds in one way or another and it seemingly has no end.

Many of us have now come to the conclusion that it will be with us for the foreseeable future and the best approach is simply to learn to live with it and accept at the very least a tremendous amount of inconvenience.  I say very least because it is a different story for those who contract the virus and in some cases get very sick or even worse die from it.

There is some positive news in the form of a vaccine and we all know some people who basically have decided to shut their lives down until there is one.  However most of us are looking for a balance in which we can operate as close to as normal as possible with the understanding that being safe and smart is the correct approach.

So I go back to where I started.  If I asked you to pick the date when COVID-19 will no longer be something we have to think about what would be your guess?  I can’t imagine it will be anytime this year but what about 2021?  Early in the year, spring, summer…when?

Okay I’ll go on record with the first guess: July 4, 2021 (Happy Birthday America)