Status Update

It is both difficult and exciting to believe September is coming to a close. I'm a little late with the blog post this month, but I don't like to start any project until I have a clear picture of my desired outcome, with all details gathered and in place.

Fall is officially here and we have been enjoying cooler temps in Charleston after some marginal hurricane weather last week. Michael and I were able to get out in the yard sans infant and fully prepare to enjoy some cool Fall evenings on the porch.

That has been one of the nice things about quarantine. Finally tackling house projects that have been put off for years, spending more quality time together, and getting to watch Maggie grow daily.

Fall's arrival is bittersweet this year. Our family has so many birthdays, including Maggie's first birthday, not to mention Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's--they are all going to look so different this year. It has been very difficult to redefine my expectations for Maggie's first year. It's been increasingly difficult to explain to family and friends that we are still, in fact, quarantined. My mother, as a doctor, receives regular updates on the virus and its spread and the many, many unknowns of its long term effects. No one knows anything concrete, yet. This is not your average flu.  We have lost an otherwise healthy 30 year old teacher in Brooklyn, a 30 year old NJ baseball coach, a 30 year old who believed the virus to be a hoax and attended a "Covid party," just a few days ago a 47 year old German teacher died in Wisconsin after being hospitalized with the virus. Just this month, a 28 year old teacher in Columbia, SC died after testing positive for the virus. Twenty-Eight. That is too soon gone.

I am not an alarmist. We do not live in fear. We walk by faith and we perform our jobs as usual. But we are cautious. Now that schools have returned, we are more cautious. It just seems reckless not to be. We have loved ones with pre existing conditions. It is heartbreaking to be so isolated and keep our distance from them right now. But we want to watch Maggie grow up. We want to have a beautiful Christmas next year. We hope to take family vacations in future. It's one season. It has been a long, long, hard season. Yes. But it is just one season. With social distancing, masks, soon a vaccine, and time, we will get through this. It will be a very bad distant memory one day, just as the epidemic of 1917 and 1918 was for so many after the fact.

Max Lucado has shared his wisdom yet again in his latest book--a "child of the quarantine"--You Are Never Alone. 

This crisis exacerbated an already rampant epidemic of isolation and depression. One study found that loneliness is as dangerous to one's health as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. It can lead to dementia or Alzheimer's, heart disease, a weakened immune system, and a shorter life span. 

 

I pray that you are all being safe, that you are taking care of yourselves and each other in the best ways possible right now. Hang twinkle lights. Light candles. Send happy mail. FaceTime regularly. It's just one season. 

"Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7. Always a favorite, always applicable.

Best,

Emily