Dog Days of Covid

They come around every year, the Dog Days of Summer. The hot, sultry days that are supposed to be days at the beach, in the mountains, picnics, barbecues, trips to national parks, even to Europe, going to a ball game, looking forward to football in a few weeks, and squeezing the fun out of the last few days of summer before going back to school. How’s that working out for you this year? By way of little astronomy, the dog days got its name because the sun is in the same region of the sky as Sirius, the brightest star visible from any place on Earth. It’s part of constellation Canis Major, which everyone knows, means “The Greater Dog.” Well, it certainly has been a dog of a summer.

Would anyone have believed back in January there would be over 165,000 deaths and over 5 million cases of a virus just in the US that started in a bizarre live animal food market in China and would completely change the world? Would you believe that political leadership of the country would be so unprepared and incompetent to allow the  virus to overwhelm us? The country forced to go on lockdown, millions out of work, cars backed up for miles to get tested for the virus, and even worse, long lines of cars waiting to get free food because people lost their jobs and couldn’t afford to buy groceries. Would you have believed everyone would be wearing a mask and it would become a political statement? That scientific experts would be ignored and even criticized for telling us the truth and warning us about what we need to do to stay safe.

It has changed everything. It’s the summer of keeping your distance. Don’t touch anybody or anything. We haven’t been able to visit two of our granddaughters in Texas where the virus is raging. We were lucky enough to take a trip to Disney World in February with them before the infections started. We don’t know when we’ll visit them again. We’re missing their wonder years. FaceTime only helps so much. Millions of people are working from home. Millions more can’t and are either risking their health by going to work, or struggling on unemployment. If you want to have friends or family over to your house, don’t even think about letting them inside. You better have a deck or a backyard that allows for the critical six feet. And, they should bring their own food and drink. Why not go out to eat? Depending on where you live, you may have to eat outside. There’s nothing more inviting than eating on a parking lot after having to wait 45 minutes for a picnic table in 90 degree heat. Just today, I passed a side street that was blocked off with big concrete dividers so the restaurant on the corner could set up picnic tables. You could watch the traffic go by on Main Street while you sipped your cocktail.

We have recently learned that children are more susceptible to COVID than originally thought. Now there is chaos and confusion about going back to school from pre-K to college. These are life altering decisions for parents. Go all virtual, they’ll be safe at home. But how do parents go to work or even work from home with young kids who can’t be expected to sit in front of a laptop for hours and pay attention? Send them to school where they will get the attention they need. But can parents trust the schools to follow all the health protocols? They would never forgive themselves if their kids got sick.

We’ve experienced many things we didn’t think possible. They way we work and play will be changed forever even after there is a vaccine and we manage to control the virus. Millions of those lost jobs will be lost forever. Thousands of small businesses will be never come back. We have been forced to find different ways of doing things. When will be able to shake hands or hug a friend again? Go to the movies, a concert, a ballgame? Will we ever feel totally safe again? This virus has shaken the foundation of the world. We are now looking ahead to the fall and the flu season which the CDC tells us, combined with COVID, it will be the one of the worst seasons of sickness ever. And winter is coming. We will continue to be shut in. For people living alone, particularly older people, the loneliness can be crushing. As you get older, every day counts just a little more. My wife and I feel more anxious as time is lost waiting for life to get back to normal. The canceled trips and family moments are times that may never be recovered. The impact and effects on all of us and how we feel about ourselves and each other will be profound in the dog days to come.