Hardly a day goes by that I don’t find myself noting how fortunate I am when it comes to the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on me. It’s really pretty incredible. If I were keeping a gratitude journal, I would have no trouble filling it up.
First, of course, I’m lucky not to have gotten sick, at least so far. And not only am I lucky not to have contracted the virus, I’m also fortunate not to have suffered any other health emergency that requires medical intervention at a time when the healthcare system is strained, and going to the hospital could mean exposing myself to Covid-19.
But I’m also lucky not to be out of work as a result of the pandemic, unlike around 2.5 million Americans and countless millions of other people around the world. The pictures on the news of miles-long lines at food banks are heart-wrenching. As a retired couple with a pension and retirement savings, the pandemic has left me and my wife financially unscathed. And we’ve even received a check from the U.S. Treasury courtesy of the CARES act. It was immediately clear to us that we had to give that money to people who need it a lot more than we do, so we’re donating it to Arm in Arm and Feeding America.
I’m also fortunate not to have children who have been trapped at home for weeks and are likely to be shut in for many weeks more. I’m lucky not to be one of those millions of parents who are having to coordinate their kids’ distance learning at the same time that they’re working full-time from home.
I’m lucky to be living in a house that’s more than roomy enough for my wife and me, in a neighborhood where we can walk the dog around the block without encountering lots of other people from whom we have to keep our distance.
And I’m lucky that most of my favorite activities — eating, reading, and watching TV — are all things I can still do just as I did before.
No, I can’t go out for a restaurant meal, or host a cocktail party, or go to the movies. I would call those “first-world problems” except that, in the context of the current crisis, they don’t even deserve to be called “problems.”
This all leaves me with a sense that I should look for ways to balance the karmic scales. Just donating money to good causes doesn’t feel like enough. I’m thinking in terms of volunteering with a non-profit. Given that I spend an hour or more a day with my 89-year-old mother, I feel a responsibility not expose myself to the coronavirus any more than necessary, so my options for volunteering are limited in the near term, but when things open up I’m going to find a way to “pay it forward.”
Beautifully stated and exactly how I feel about this situation. Lynn and I remain incredibly lucky in the midst of all the terrible things happening in a pandemic-stricken world. Acknowledging gratitude is very important.