Without a doubt, I’m sure the vast majority of us never expected to wake up one morning to hear the devastating news that life as we knew it was cancelled.
Schools closed and jobs on hold.
Stores at limited capacity if open at all.
Our neighbours and even family were all of a sudden some of our greatest risks.
Going out for milk was a more thought out and well planned process.
All of the things we took for granted – like playing at the park, embracing non-essentials, vacations, time with family, and even mundane Monday’s at the office.
These things were taken away from us as the world shut down.
We’ve come a long way over the past year and a half.
Our communities have rallied for those that were going without and struggling.
Our families and friends that were struggling with mental health and perhaps even physically – we stepped up.
We’ve all done a huge pivot and found new and innovated ways to stay together while apart and keep as many of these small businesses that are really struggling afloat by doing take out, curbside, or even buying gift cards.
With patios opening up we have literally flocked in high numbers, flooding their doors and tables. Bringing light and laughter to these establishments once again.
With Scientists banding together to work as quickly as possible to refocus all of their research and studies towards finding a vaccine to get ahead of this virus, we’re now able to thoughtfully reflect into what the crystal ball might show for our futures.
Whether you believe in the vaccine, or covid, or not – we can all believe in moving forward and closing the chapter on these dark times.
If we look toward the future, we can only imagine what will really happen – but with summer upon us and vaccine numbers on the rise, Hope is on the horizon.
We are hopeful for maskless date nights spent in our favourite restaurants.
Aimlessly wandering malls and our local shops.
Movie theatres, concert venues and sports events.
Parades, parties, and celebrations.
Red carpet premieres, celeb spotting, and high profile events.
Vacations, weddings, baby showers and birthdays.
We look forwards to less social distancing and more social gatherings.
Less masks, more hugs.
Less waiting in lines, more enjoying life.
Our crystal ball may also take this as an opportunity to ensure the life lessons we’ve learned over this last year and a half weren’t for nothing.
As important as physical hygiene is and always has been, we’ve all learned that washing our hands and keeping high touch surfaces clean and sanitized is integral to our physical and mental well being.
We’ve learned that going into work sick is of really no benefit to anyone especially ourselves.
Working from home can be a real and sometimes beneficial option.
Our virtual lives have blossomed in this short time and we have learned to truly embrace our virtual connections.
Even if we may feel confined to our homes sometimes, the whole world is still here and open to us.
We’ve explored cities and towns. Taken lectures and classes.
Expanded our minds and our vocabularies.
Some of us have enhanced our degrees or careers.
We’ve learned that we may never really know what our futures hold.
Sometimes the best laid plans can lead awry.
And we’ve also learned – that it is ok.
On the brink of losing everything, our team has gained so much.
We have experienced a rollercoaster of things – loss, gain, pivoting, sad good byes and warm hellos.
We’ve shifted in ways we never imagined we would be capable of, or even considered for.
Our crystal ball may still be a bit cloudy – but it is glowing brightly with hope and dedication for all of the new adventures and continuing experiences that are along the way.
Our lessons learned will not be forgotten.
We will continue to pivot, grow, and evolve wherever the wind may take us.
We will never forget that sometimes the end is actually just the beginning, and no matter what – we will never stop.
Guest Blogger Rayna Davies
Rayna Davies is a graduate and practitioner of Business Management. She has developed an expertise in blogging, covering subjects like travel, world events and security. Having grown up with a father who has developed an expertise in Physical Security and Executive Protection in the RCMP and two major corporations, she has personally observed and experienced many security details. These experiences have included personally meeting HM Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Jean Chretien and many celebrities. She presently assists Sentinel Security in Executive Protection workshops and guest blogging and also assists Gloprosec Preventative Services in Intelligence gathering and Business Administration. Her passions include World travel, having visited every continent.
