This weekend we will move our clocks forward to daylight savings. It was a year ago that we realized that the pandemic was upon us. A year ago, this coming weekend, Marnie and I were on our way to visit our granddaughter in Calgary. We had originally thought of flying, but were worried about being stranded in Calgary, so we were on the road incredibly early in the day with a plan to drive through to Moose Jaw.
We didn’t make it there when we received a message that a person who we interacted with may have been exposed to the virus. As we had lunch at a Brandon restaurant, we looked for advise on whether we should continue or stop and turn around. Within an hour we had made the determination to turn around.
It was the beginning of the changes that would begin affecting our lives. As we passed through customs in Warroad and Rainy River, we were given instruction on the need to begin isolating and the need to wear masks. Life had changed dramatically within the 24-hour period as we headed east to return home. Within a week, the government had put us into a full lock down with isolation.
Vacationers and Canadian winter residents in Mexico and the southern US states rushed to get home before the border closed or their health insurance expired.
We wondered when we might see our granddaughter again. Would we be able to travel west in a couple of months when we expected the virus to disappear, and everything return to normal?
Life as we knew it had changed in a heartbeat. The border was closed. Only essential businesses remained open. Local independent businesses were shuttered and could only continue to do business with curbside pickup with phone or internet orders. Schools went to internet learning.
We are now arriving at the first anniversary of the declared Covid-19 pandemic. Much has changed. Everyone has become comfortable wearing face masks. Canada has begun a mass vaccination of its adult population. Vaccinations can’t happen fast enough, while we wait for vaccines to be produced and delivered across Canada.
We have experienced dramatic changes in our lives and lifestyles. Rules have been put in place to protect us from ourselves. A year from now we will look back on this anniversary day and ponder again how life has changed. We will look at the new rules for dining, for having our hair cut, for wearing masks, and for travel and having visitors to our homes. We will debate on the easing of restrictions and the impact that has had on our lives and the spread of the virus. What rules will be put in place for those who have received their vaccinations?
What will the second anniversary tell us? What will we have learned? What permanent life changes will we have made to create the new normal?
Jim Cumming
Former Publisher
Fort Frances Times
