Tough and tired, together
Five months ago I never would’ve guessed that our spring, and now the beginning of our summer, would pan out the way it has. At the first sign of COVID-19, my naive self thought we were dealing with an upsetting and mysterious news story. Little did I know, this virus would take over the entire world and become a global pandemic. As the virus began to spread quickly around our planet, I remember feeling as though many were getting stuck in that same naive bubble and that too few people were taking it seriously. However, as we have weathered its course, I’ve seen an incredible banding together that I feel has made us so much stronger.
As the media manager for the Uxbridge Health Centre, I was in a bit of a unique position with COVID information and knowledge. I was in charge of helping to spread important information and resources around our community to ensure everyone was well prepared and informed for the difficult and foreign times we were experiencing. With the help of doctors, nurses and community broadcasters, we set up a plan to help our town make it through as unscathed and as well educated as possible.
At first, we felt as though we were desperately trying to convince our community of the importance of social distancing and proper hygiene practices. But just as suddenly as this virus came on, our government hammered down with restrictions and guidelines, showing us all how serious and real this crisis was. We went to bed one night and woke up the next day almost as if in a different world. Everyone’s lives were modified and all aspects of normal day-to-day had changed, and suddenly the whole world was all on board.
The messages of strength and encouragement that were being shared around our community did not go unnoticed. From driveway signs to painted rocks on the trails, people young and old found creative ways to inspire and build up our frontline workers and all those facing challenges during our COVID-19 world. Despite all the struggles, there grew a collective feeling of togetherness as we banded together to keep each other safe, happy and healthy. While this virus was, and still is, devastating to so many, we all stepped up to modify our daily lives. From parents taking on the role of homeschool teachers to business owners finding ways to operate entirely online, none of us went untouched.
Additionally, it’s been amazing to see how well we can adapt. Being midway through my school semester when the world shut down, we quite seamlessly were able to modify the way we ran classes and assignments to suit a world of social distancing and isolation.
Services continue, such as the Adult Day Program from Community Care Durham, who manages to run daily activities for their clients through Zoom. And amazingly, I have witnessed my very tech-illiterate grandmother pick up the Zoom calls and virtual games quite easily. I feel as though we took a lot of our modern world for granted before we realized just how useful and important some of our inventions could be.
Although it’s sometimes hard to see the end in sight, it’s comforting to know we are all in this together. As our country begins to re-open I think it’s important to remember that just because our social circles can increase and that our economy is beginning to open, the virus itself is still present in our world and still very much contractable and spreadable.
Until we find a solid and reliable solution to combat this virus, our world will continue to look a little different. It’s tough and tiring to live in this strange reality but I am so proud of our town and our country for taking so many steps to ensure we can manage through as best as possible.
Keep up the great efforts and enthusiasm, everyone! Together, we will get through this and be better educated, and prepared for our future.
Editor’s note: The Uxbridge Cosmos is a host news organization for the Local Journalism Initiative (LJI), a federally funded program aimed at fostering and supporting the creation of civic journalism. The Local Journalism Initiative is intended to support the creation of civic journalism; therefore, LJI reporters are required to cover civic issues and civic institutions such as courthouses, city halls, band councils, school boards, Parliament or provincial legislatures and the like. Ms. Edgell’s stories are shared across the Canada, as LJI stories are available for republication by accredited media organizations across the country through a Creative Commons license, broadening and strengthening the reach of the content and coverage.