Patriot Realm

Well, the Wuhan Wog aka the Coffin Flu, seems to have hit the world with a sledgehammer.  It has only been a short time, but I am starting to lose track of what day of the week it is and my whole routine of daily life seems out of whack.

I live beside a school and I miss the noise of the kids at play, chatting and greeting their little chums as they skip across the pedestrian crossing under the watchful eye of the “ lollipop lady. “ The bell ringing to signal lunch time or playtime; the Mums and Dads pulling up to pick them up at the close of the school day and the cheering and shouting when a school sports carnival is held.

It is now eerily quiet and still. Hardly a car or pedestrian from one day to the next. The odd dog walker or jogger passes by, but by and large, it is as though someone pressed the pause button and video has been frozen.

I ventured out today to join Redhead to go shopping at our local IGA. The shoppers were there, all calmly and respectfully pushing their trolleys down the now one way aisles and, apart from toilet paper, most items were in plentiful supply, albeit more expensive than they once were. Many, like us, now wear gloves and no one was pausing to chat or laugh and pass the time of day as they seemed more keen on getting their essentials and then heading back to the relative safety and security of their own space at home.

I got home, after having a short gossip with Redhead and looked around my small bolthole and thought about what a long winter we are about to face. I almost felt sorry for myself.

Then I went on to twitter and found this tweet which I want to share with you all.

My eyes filled with tears and I could not help but be grateful to this Medical staff member who took the time to be caring and considerate when they are all under such enormous pressure.

Suddenly, everything was put in to perspective.

We are doing this so that our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren can come back to school and run and play.

And our sacrifices are tiny and inconsequential when compared with the sacrifices of others, now and in the past, who did so much for us to be here today.