March 23, 2021

One year ago today I started my unusual journey in the Coronaverse. March 23, 2020, I wrote my first entry in my journal. It has been a journey of exploration and awakening. I have learned a lot about myself and about the world we live in.

Is it a new world? It is a new world for me. There is new normal being created from the ashes of my old normal. I know when this all began a year ago we never really expected it to last as long as it has. The end is in sight but the health experts keep telling us to be careful, to stay separated, and to have patience.

I wonder how many people are still listening.

Judging by the construction sites I have worked on lately not very many of them are. Judging by the ski hill; everyone is. It is very hard to judge by the brief interludes we have with other people. I know I am doing my best to keep the required physical distance and wear a mask. Many others are not, or have stopped caring. All I can do is my best; the rest will do as they will. I know after a year of this pandemic everyone is tired.

I’m tired as well.

The last year has seen me expand and hone my craft. I have grown over the course of twelve tumultuous months. I went back and reread many of the posts I wrote in the last year. In my first post went “If the restrictions we take work, people will say we over-reacted”. A year later that is what a vocal minority is saying.

Is it the minority?

The question remains unanswered… if we had done nothing, then what would have happened? Thankfully we did what we have done and now the death toll is much lower and our health-care system has not been over-run.

There are a few themes that kept cropping up in the ramblings of my mind. We sheltered from a viral storm and braced for a new normal and a new world order early in the year. When summer came there was a lot more fun and life seemed to be getting back to a semblance of sane.

Then came the dreaded second wave of infections. It was a time for more restrictions, parts of the world locked down again. In our little paradise of the Okanagan, it still felt distant.

Until Big White.

The hill opened early to awesome snow.  Then suddenly we held our breath when over 100 people were infected by covid19. It was real and it was here, people feared our mountain paradise. At least we weren’t in Europe where they never even opened the ski hills.

Europe has gone into another batch of lockdowns and they talk about a third wave. Meanwhile China parties…

How much longer until we can come together again? How long until enough people have been vaccinated and the world can open up again.

As the saying goes: it has been the best of times, and the worst of times. I found my muse, felt freedom for the first time in my life. One of my best friends lost his long battle with diabetes. Then came my best ski season ever, I had a winter of wonder in my mountain home.

Life is like an ocean. Sometimes we ride the top of the wave and sometimes we find ourselves in the bottom of a deep swell. That’s when we have to swim like hell to keep from drowning. Then there are the times of calm when we can catch our breath before the next storm.

The last year was a year of storms. It was a time that destroyed millions of lives worldwide. It was also a time when many people harnessed the storm and rode it. I managed to ride the storm and survived fairly unscathed. My heart goes out to those that have lost a loved one. I feel for those who suffered because of the insidious viral infection that has spread around the world in such a short time.

After a year of my journal, I thank you for joining me. I look forward to a new beginning as spring warms our world and our hearts. I will continue my reflections in my blog and continue to expand my fictional work as well. I invite anyone who wants to share a piece of writing, like Bea Wulf did, to let me know.

I will continue to explore the adventures of Barrman and his friends, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. They have all been true stories so far.

And the story continues…