May 16

It’s the May long weekend. The strangest May long that I remember. Usually I am very busy right now. People are traveling and there are big parties in the bush. This year it’s a bit different.

Sleep was elusive again. We woke up before six am. I snuggled in with my wife and our cat and tried to return to a restful slumber. After dozing in and out of consciousness I gave up and rolled out of bed. It was 7:15. Routines are the norm now, coffee brewing. Get on the computer and check facebook, CBC news, and various other sites. The first hour of every day seems to be the same. I wish I could get more sleep.

My groggy kid wandered down the stairs and appeared. “where is my phone?”

“In my pocket where it will stay,” I replied.

She begged me to give it back and I reminded her of her broken promises from the night before. She began to negotiate the phones return. My daughter should make a good lawyer someday the way she negotiates.

I think back to my youth with my share of issues and angst at her age. I never had a phone. The most hi-tech thing I had was a radio shack TRS80 and my handheld Matel electronic football game. These kids have a phone in their pocket that is more powerful than the computers we had ten years ago. It is hard for them to manage. Like this virus the phone is an unprecedented problem facing society. When I was fourteen it was about the outdoors and biking. Now it’s Instagram and TikTok.

I saw our numbers for the coronavirus in the interior health region today; 181 cases,2 in hospital, and 2 deaths 161 recovered. This is the total since March. We are pretty lucky and pretty safe in our Okanagan bubble. I will push hygiene, and distance to these kids, it makes sense they are skeptical. The fact is the measures we have taken are working. Is it time we opened things up?

My friend the hairdresser stopped by for a glass of wine today and she stayed for dinner. We talked about our friends that are hijacked by the conspiracy theories. The numbers are low. It’s understandable why people are going stir crazy and why they have jumped on all the fear. We agree at least we don’t believe most of the stuff on facebook et al. My friend says I can come for a haircut on Tuesday. I may wait until we have a vaccine before I get a haircut.

Panic has subsided from the pandemic. We are moving into a comfortable new normal. Time will tell how successful the stay at home orders were. We will open more businesses and restrictions are being eased. We plan on offering boat tours next week; we have a pandemic plan.

I have begun the process of writing my book. I am excited to share and learn. I know it is not a sprint but a marathon. If we had not had this infection would I have pushed to pursue my dream? Our world has changed, is it for the better? I look forward to concerts and sports, but that’s a long way in the future.

Our freedom comes from within, our spirits soar in the new found freedom that this virus has brought. Many people rail and cry against the loss of freedoms. But true freedom can never be restrained; the freedom of the human spirit.