Tom Bickimer COVID-19 Ruminations

Hello, everyone, Tom Bickimer reporting in- not as a homebuilder or a political candidate, but as a neighbor speaking to a neighbor.

        So, how’s everybody doing out there?  All our best laid plans, right?  Strange times, these are, times none of us have seen before.  This Covid-19 pandemic both breathtaking and heartbreaking in breadth and scope. 

        Many of us will be touched by the health consequences of this virus.  Many of us will feel its financial impact.  All of us will see our everyday routine upended- a new normal inconceivable mere days ago.  What was once deemed important in our lives, now relegated to the sidelines by the truly important- our faith, and the health and well-being of our family, friends and neighbors. 

        We’ve entered this strange new paradigm where the world we all took for granted has now profoundly changed.  An undercurrent of concern colors our days, and some of us will bear sacrifices greater than others. 

        It’s possible, though, that small blessings will emerge from these unsettled times, blessings like more free time for ourselves and our families- time on our hands that we yearned for pre-virus and now suddenly have.  A once in a lifetime opportunity born upon the sacrifices that this pandemic will ask of us. 

        It will take weeks, even months, before the coronavirus runs its course.  We owe it to ourselves and our community to make the best of it.  Our nation has a history of rising to the occasion.  This is one of those times.  And it will be the simple acts that carry the day and make our new-found time meaningful.  Perhaps that may be dinnertime conversation around the kitchen table or phoning a friend you haven’t talked to in awhile.  Maybe your free time looks like sitting down with a good book, or listening to music- not as background noise, but as the soundtrack that touches your heart.  Free time for outdoor walks, or a Sunday drive, or for whatever there was time for before the advent of cable TV and the Internet.

        The day will come when we get the all clear sign, when the whistle blows and play is resumed.  May the hardships you’ve endured be soothed by the small blessings you found because you had the time.  May they become the gift of a lifetime, and not just a wistful memory.

        Take care of yourselves out there, especially all of you healthcare workers, and thanks for listening.