Covid-19 - the biggest thing since...

So here we are again, weeks into Phase 2 (Heightened Alert). The past 1.5 years living amidst the Covid-19 pandemic have been... interesting. I asked my parents if the pandemic was the biggest world/national event in their lives, and both unhesitatingly agreed - bigger than independence in 1965 (which I was somewhat surprised by - according to my dad, everybody then was just struggling to survive and get a job, so the idea of political independence was almost peripheral to many people), and bigger than the race riots of 1969 (which was the next biggest thing according to my mom).

I wasn't alive in those days, so to me, the 2nd biggest event after the current pandemic was the September 11 terrorist attacks, not only because of the heightened security measures that are now standard in airports and buildings, but because the disquieting sense of potential physical danger became something that's ingrained in our collective consciousness ever since.

The main reason why I think the current pandemic is the biggest single world event I have lived through, is that it's been so pervasive. 

It's affected the way we work and study (I've never spent so much time at home since I was a toddler!), the way we eat and buy stuff (my doorbell's never been fitter, what with all the exercise its getting from deliveries) and the way we dress and behave (masks! Endlessly washing hands and wiping down phones!)

It's also affected the way we exercise (everybody suddenly buying home weights, bicycles, and going on nature walks!), and even our spiritual life (church via YouTube live, cell group meetings via Zoom, transitioning our en masse in-person bread distribution to individual efforts, and even FoodPanda when measures tighten...).

I wouldn't really have guessed it before, but it has not been comfortable to spend so much time at home. I actually look forward to going into the office whenever the restrictions have allowed it. I don't have a study at home, so we all have to be in separate corners so we don't interrupt each other with our calls. Apparently I am the loudest and most disruptive with my endless meetings! 

The daughter had her bedroom for her HBL (though thankfully all that is over now, just waiting to go to University), the son has his bedroom for his HBL, the wife has our bedroom for her work, so I am exiled to the dining table, trying to maintain my posture on our backless bench :P By the end of each day, I really miss my office chair back in the CBD, not to mention AIR-CONDITIONING (can't bear the thought of further warming the planet by turning on the air-conditioning at home, so I am usually a sticky blob of grease by the afternoon)!

But I'm still really thankful, because I know many who have to struggle through much tougher conditions. 

One particular positive for me is that family dynamics have been really good. We've always been close to our children, and enjoyed spending time with each other. So we get to do even more of that now. We've eaten so many more meals together than we ever did before. We've spent so much more time sharing how our day is going, throughout the day, instead of just at the end of it. And yes, we've watched so many more TV shows together too, because we often can't even go out on weekends!

The stress of dealing with the pandemic must be really different for different people. I'm blessed to be in an industry that continues to run even when all these restrictions are in place, so yes, there are definitely huge challenges, but I still have a job. 

I'm also fortunate to have enough space to put one person in each corner of our little home - it's sometimes uncomfortable, but it still works. We have just enough computers to go round. We have wifi. We actually like each other enough to enjoy more time together (which is not a given!). 

So grumbling would be ungrateful! As the apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:12-13 "... I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation... I can do all this through him who gives me strength"

It seems to me that the pandemic had a self-reinforcing impact in many aspects. If an industry was doing well, it did even better - technology was already booming before, and now it's booming even more. If an industry was struggling, it did even worse - brick and mortar retail was already losing out to e-commerce, and now they're even worse off. If a family was already close, then it did even better - supporting each other and enjoying deeper relationships. If a family was already at loggerheads, then it did even worse - squabbling and fighting in close quarters.

But one thing that likely affected everyone adversely was the deprivation of social connections - I really miss meeting friends for lunch (especially my friends at work who are in rotational teams or alternate locations, who we are literally not allowed to meet in person), Friday cell meetings, weekend services! 

So we're gonna gather a whole bunch of friends to have a Zoom dinner this Friday, where we'll all buy dinner for someone else, share lifehacks on how to make life easier amidst the pandemic and just enjoy each other's company.

In Proverbs 27:10 says "Better a neighbour nearby than a brother far away". Thank God that there's technology today to help us bridge the gap, so that we have the ability to have many nearby neighbours! If you feel like having dinner, drop me a line :)