In a time of plague…

Mother Nature has hit the “RESET” button — no more same old, same old. We can wallow in denial or delusion, or face facts and figure out how to proceed.

In the United States on May 1, 2020, over a million people have been reported to be infected with coronavirus, with almost 62, 000 deaths. By day’s end, those numbers will have increased. The US map on that website provides a look at which states have been hardest hit. No place is safe, but some areas clearly are less or more affected than others. The Washington Post is offering free coverage on the COVID pandemic: sign up for the daily Coronavirus Updates newsletter.

Especially since mid-March, the landscape seems more battlefield than playground. Where I live in northern Virginia, many public facilities including parks are closed to try to limit viral spread. Thankfully, most children seem to have avoided the ravages of the illness. There’s nothing playful about plague, but playground equipment offers a metaphor for the impacts of the virus.

COVID has turned our lives upside down.

The learning curve has twists and turns. It’s all we can do to keep our balance, stay upright, and hope the landing is soft.

We need to keep the Big Picture in mind as we try to juggle competing demands of health, safety, and economic survival and balance short- and long- term needs. We focus on the immediate emergency while those who can look ahead at rebuilding broken systems. And ask questions: What did we learn? How do we proceed now?

A pandemic isn’t unprecedented. It’s just that few people are alive who lived through the one in 1918. This one was even expected. The military issued a report in 2017 about its potential impact. So, we knew but ignored warnings. Thankfully, many of us possess the tools, resilience, and good sense to prevail in the face of crisis and uncertainty.