I've been away much longer than I had planned to be, but real life got in the way. I completed my internship and have begun my residency. I'm on temporary physical hiatus from my residency because I traveled to the U.S. during a one-month break, had a major ulcerative colitis flare, and was then asked to remain here until told otherwise because of COVID-19. I will be remotely helping with some paperwork and documentation tasks while I'm here, but I still have one more day of vacation. I would like to be in the trenches with my colleagues now, but it's not feasible for me.
We're all helped by keeping in mind than when our ancestors faced major hardships, it often involved something as traumatic as going off to war. Many of us don't have to do anything more drastic than sitting on our sofas while binge-watching Netflix or Prime Video. Most of us still have electricity, water, plumbing, Internet, and either cable or broadcast TV. Some of us are without income sources, which must surely be unsettling at the very least. The rest of us -- as long as we don't contract COVID-19 and have especially brutal cases of it -- are fine.
I have to admit that when I look at the Instagram accounts of some of my friends, relatives, and acquaintances and see them partying it up with extended family members, neighbors, or other various and sundry individuals, it angers me. My brother isn't working sixteen-hour days so that all of these people can pretend that appropriate social distancing includes letting all these people into their homes. Unless these people live in your home, they are not part of any group from which you do not need to maintain appropriate social distance.
This is where I'll rant about it, however. Just as the folks in Maine who cut down their neighbor's tree, left it blocking his driveway so that neither he nor two out-of-state construction workers living in his home whom they suspected (for unknown reasons) of being infected with the dreaded virus, could drive out of the driveway, then maintained vigil with weapons so that they could not escape on foot, either, were overstepping the bounds of their authority, it is not my place to enforce social distancing among my friends, relatives, and acquaintances. I haven't been appointed as the The Official Social Distancing Policewoman of any jurisdiction.
I will say, however, that I don't appreciate the actions of those friends, relatives, and acquaintances who are doing this, and I don't want to hear about how sorry I'm supposed to feel for them if or when their locations become new epicenters for the virus. I will not be sending them my acetaminophen stash.
Be safe. Unless we are economically impacted, contract the virus, or are suffering from some other illness, the medical care for which has been impacted by the resources being devoted to fighting and containing COVID-19, we should not be whining.
End of sermon!
I do not own this video.
