Patience, perspective

As we pass the one-year milestone of our nation’s battle against COVID-19, it’s painful to look back and see just how much life has been impacted. Indeed this is one anniversary nobody will be celebrating.
Re-reading the local headlines and stories from March 18, 2020’s ANR edition reminds us of the angst and uncertainty looming at that time, a reality that fortunately is finally beginning to ease, at least at the local level. The coronavirus threat hit hard and fast one year ago this week, shutting down schools and businesses while putting health care providers on the front lines of a war we didn’t see coming. Even one full year later, questions remain about what could have and should have been done differently to prevent or slow the spread, though here on the homefront there was little choice but to hit the pause button while working to find a way, almost overnight, to navigate unchartered waters.
Nebraska and Hamilton County responded to the challenge well, taking precautionary measures though stopping short of a full-scale lockdown. That strategy was reportedly not an option in metro communities for logistical reasons, but it made sense for rural Nebraska.
A year later, with vaccination protection growing by the week, there is as much concern with our nation’s mental health as there is the population’s physical well-being, and with good reason. Regardless of age, we are social creatures by nature, and while high-speed broadband has allowed us to log on to work and learn and communicate like never before, lack of social routine and personal interaction has taken a heavy toll.
We want and need to see our family and friends. It’s what connects us and gives life meaning. I’m encouraged to see additional resources being allocated in local communities and schools to provide mental health services, hoping and praying that there is growing awareness of the scope of the problem, and an understanding that it’s healthy to admit to ourselves and others if we need help. 
So what have we learned in the past year, while enduring the first pandemic in a century? Patience and perspective certainly top that list. It was hard to come to grips with the reality that there were no quick answers or solutions, and yet as tough as it got here there were people fighting this invisible enemy against tougher odds at ground zero. In the midst of a year filled with political and social unrest, patience and perspective were in short supply in 2020, just when they were needed most.
What we can celebrate in March of 2021 is genuine hope that we may mercifully be able to ease back to some sense of normal by spring or summer. There is that, as well as comfort in knowing that we live in a place where faith, community and trust in our local leaders and health care providers helped us avoid much of the chaos on the nightly news.
Kurt Johnson