To be completely honest it’s hard to think of anything else right now. We are all thinking of one thing at this moment, the coronavirus. It’s hard to find the words to even articulate a thought. My brain is so scattered and there is so much uncertainty. I can pinpoint it, it is the fear of the unknown and just wanting to protect and keep my family safe. But as unnerving this time is, I want to talk about the good that will come from this.
Our generation, which for me is Generation Y ( I will be 40 in June) has never experienced a Pandemic which a lot of people have compared to wartime mostly as a result of the economic impact. There are some similarities, The uncertainty, The anxiety, The fear of safety to name a few. There is this weird darkness that surrounds every day, and it is an active effort to maintain a positive attitude and mindset. It is a time period that I won't forget and as a mother to young children. Their memories, if they even remember it will be very different from older children experiencing this. And I am sure there are many conversations taking place to explain it all, which must be complicated. The way I have explained it to my kids is that everyone has a bad cold right now. Maybe it isn't the right way to explain it, I am sure there is a better way, but it is what felt right.
I wrote my college thesis out of choice, I was an Economics major and always loved research. There was a topic that I was always so interested in, I compared spending patterns from the WWII generation that had to experience extreme hardship to Generation Y and the Baby Boomers. It was called "The Insatiable Consumer". My point is, as awful as this time has been, maybe/hopefully it will bring mindfulness and a focus on the simple things in life. We have diverted so much from appreciation of the little things. I believe that this experience will bring a sense of appreciation that we have all needed.