Love Is Not Cancelled
It's been a really tough 16 months that we've all been through. Sixteen months that started with a 2-week circuit breaker that didn't break any circuit. The virus spread worldwide and affected a lot of people in a lot of different ways.
Concerts were cancelled, family get-togethers, weddings, and things that should generally bring us joy were postponed and postponed again.
In the early days, there was a feeling of dread, of worry. I saw pictures of wildlife standing in the middle of a business district in what appeared to be a major city, and I remember those moments when I went out to buy a few emergency supplies (back when people were still panic buying toilet paper), I walked into a store and was immediately seized with anxiety about coughing, or getting dust in my nose and sneezing. All the empty parking lots, and deserted shopping centres made going for a drive post-apocalyptically eerie, everything felt soooo surreal.
Slowly but surely, the world is starting to come back. It's been kind of like watching an epic fight scene in a movie, just when we think we've won, the virus would rear around for a second wave and a third wave,... and now here we are. Sixteen long months later, we're getting ready to open things up.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little apprehensive about how quickly things are opening: but my joy at finally working again far outweighs any sense of nervousness I might have. I will still be taking precautions, (I've got my first dose of Astra Zeneca, tentatively due to get my second near the end of July), but in the meantime I will continue to mask up in public. My wife and I discussed we and the fam, will lie low for just a little extra while to see if there are any major flare-ups resulting from the sudden opening.
We can move ahead with existing plans, we can make new plans, and we can hopefully take the lessons we've learned and be better people.
I count myself lucky that I'm able to continue to do what I love to do. I get to go to weddings, watch people who are madly in love with each other get married and then I get to help them celebrate because Love Is Not Cancelled.