Forty-one years later, challenge is to live our lives

Forty-one years ago the world was a different place. Forty-one years ago we were different people. We were young. We had energy. Vietnam and race riots were fresh in our minds. We believed in peace, love and rock and roll. Young people wore beads, T-shirts, and bell bottom pants complete with patches. Both sexes wore their hair long and silky.

Forty-one years ago we got married in a Presbyterian Church that neither of us had ever attended. Only our immediate families were there. We were young and naïve. We have lived several lifetimes since then.

Our jobs have varied, as have our living arrangements. We have rented houses in several different cities. We purchased one in Goshen, Ohio, then when our jobs changed, we went back to renting a place. We finally settled on our current abode, which was paid off years ago. 

We lived close enough to our parents to visit them often. Today our folks and some of our friends are exploring the afterlife. We seldom visit their graves but we do think of them frequently. 

We had enough energy to visit Mammoth Cave and climb up or down what seemed like billions of stairs in the process. The best part was that we could wake up the next day and do it again without our bodies yelling at us in the form of achy knees. 

We could go to Gatlinburg and hike on some of the most beautiful trails we had ever experienced. When I close my eyes I can still hear the quiet, still feel the freshness of the air,  and, even now, feel contentment saturate my soul.

Times have changed drastically. We have gotten older, creakier, and more unsure of what the future holds. The days of dragging ourselves out of bed way too early in the morning are mostly gone. If we do get up early it is not to go to work but for a medical reason. Forty-one years ago neither of us had gone to a doctor for years. We can’t say that any more.

An invisible foe we have named Virus (with a capital V) is holding the world hostage. We have been told to stay home. Don’t go shopping. Don’t get near anyone. Wear a mask. Don’t wear a mask. Wash your hands. Get tested. Don’t get tested. Close your business and send your workers home. Stay open as you are an essential  business. Take an unproven medicine to battle the disease. No, don’t take it. The disease has to run its course. Don’t go to the hospital. Do go to the hospital. Ventilators are in short supply. No, they aren’t. Only a small percentage of people who contract the Virus will die. Most of them will live, so we should stop the fear mongering. What are we to believe with so many officials giving conflicting information? 

The few stores that are open offer early shopping for the elderly. Their definition of elderly is eight years younger than my current age. I seldom feel old, as I consider elderly to be 10 or even 20 years older than me. Granted, there are times when I don’t understand why bending over to pick something up off the ground takes me so long and hurts so much. But, elderly? I’m not even close.

In these days of uncertainty, it is a challenge to live our lives as best we can while the cloud of disaster hovers over us. We are not as young and strong as we were in our youth, but we need to remember that this, too, shall pass.