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Sunday, December 8, 2024

Transitions – Perspective over time

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“Life is about perspective and how you look at something…ultimately, you have to zoom out.” —Whitney Wolfe Herd

I’m a history major and a Sci-Fi nerd. I’ve been known to express things in terms of decades or centuries and go off on a tangent. To me, these last two years have been like science fiction – made up and unbelievable.

When the pandemic lockdowns started, like many, I thought it would only last a few months. My family was careful before and after the vaccines, and today we still frequently use masks.

In the early days when I heard about healthy people getting the virus, I thought they were unlucky or did something risky. History is full of deadly results that could have been lessened but general ignorance or disbelief that it was serious, counteracted wisdom.

After the vaccine and boosters, COVID became a non-issue, or did it? My daughter’s family got it at Christmas from their 4-year-old preschooler, the only one not vaccinated. Unfortunately, my husband and I got it while traveling in June and unknowingly gave it to them again. Their symptoms were minor, but it did mess up their vacation plans. I fainted and went to the ER. As I was treated and given the antiviral infusion, I reflected on how people must have felt during past monumental diseases, disasters, and/or wars.

Despite what the world experienced since March 2020, the AP recently reported that researchers using data from 185 countries estimated that vaccines saved the lives of over 20 million people during the first year. A far better record than the last pandemic.

So, as I struggle to put these years in perspective, I lean on history, and use a word that reflects how technology got many of us through it, I ZOOM out. It is a story that is still being written.

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Barbara Blomquist
Barbara Blomquist
Barbara Blomquist is a Naperville resident, wife, mother, quilter, and screenwriter. Contact her at BWBLomquist@aol.com.
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