“LIFE OF ‘History-in-the-Making’ IN TIME OF CoViD”

Can you imagine that during our lifetime we are actually LIVING OUT what would come down as one of the most significant fact in world history?

A pandemic is not a regular occurrence. The last time we had the deadliest flu pandemic was in 1918 during the Spanish Flu. Here are a few quick and interesting facts about influenza in the past century.

One hundred and two years on, we are faced with another deadly pandemic. Browsing on last night, I saw a very few people that have survived both pandemic, can you even imagine that? There is a Maria Branyas from Spain, she is 113 years old and survived CoViD. Read her story HERE. At 108, Phil Corio is believed to be the oldest survivor here from New Mexico, USA. In the UK, a 106-year old lady is their oldest survivor after three weeks in hospital with CoViD. These are just few of our elderly all over the world who survived CoViD and the Spanish Flu as well in their lifetime.

I have mentioned this to our Little Man once, telling him that one day when he gets to have his own kids they would ask him about the CoViD-19 in 2020, how would he respond? He aptly answered this way “This is the virus from China, made all of us stay home for so long so we will be safe from it. I did not have to go to school but instead do classes online. It was both sad and exciting for me.”

This is Coronavirus!

In 20 years, God-forbidding I am still well and alive, my son would be 30 years old and hopefully thinking of having a family if he does not have one yet. Their generation would be talking about what they can remember of the CoVid-19 era of 2020. Some of them would be sharing their experiences with distance learning and the evolution of ZOOM online classes. My son might mention and fondly remember his Zoom Birthday Party. Still some would recall how they were not able to march and receive their diploma or certificate of completion the traditional way as most schools have cancelled their graduation or moving up ceremony. Some might share how they did virtual presentation, or a drive-thru graduation and still some did the oddest arrangements like marching up a set-up stage to pick up your own certificate and face an empty hall only to smile at the camera focused on them.

Zoom meetings have become a fad. It has even taken over schools, conferences, TV shows, news outfits and even church gatherings like Bible Studies. Live streaming and Facebook live will also come down our history books for streaming concerts, church worship services, hour-long press conferences by government officials. etc.

If I'd be blessed to have a grandchild in the future, I might even take her with me for a long walk and start telling how her dad survived being at home for three months on his own with neither play dates nor basketball games. How we would bake all sort of things from Facebook just to kill time. How her dad felt so lonely and isolated at the very start and how he coped. I think I will always share my son's essay with my grandchild/children and still be as proud as I am now of his accomplishment during this pandemic.

I can picture us doing some gardening in the backyard with the grand kids, while I could be relating the story of how this minuscule virus, or microscopic to be exact, called Coronavirus invaded our normal way of living and suddenly paralyzed the whole world forcing us all to stay home, pause from whatever we were doing and just wait on. And how this pause have given most of us an opportunity to slow down, rest and be able to spend more quality time with family. I will definitely pinch in that this was God's way of teaching us how to "take time to smell the flowers" and spend some time with the Lord as well.

"We urge you, brothers and sisters..to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life." - PAUL in 1 Thessalonians 4:10-11

It's only been three months to this pandemic and a lot have changed. Maybe I can make jokes and funny stories about wearing mask and social distancing too, but make it a teaching moment too about how to be constantly clean personally (to the point of being an OCD). Will we ever find ourselves running out of gloves and hand sanitizer in the market place (stores or online) in the future? Or should I be asking what kind of virus could we be battling then? O, I will be so glad to be retired by that time (and I hope they won't call back retired nurses then and we would have learned a lot more from this present day experience.)

I can also tuck my dear grandson in to bed as he sleeps over with GrandMa and GrandPa for the weekend and tell him about my experience as a healthcare professional dealing with the elderly population during this pandemic. They are not the fun stories but sure are heart warming and stories we can learn a lot about. I can tell him stories of elderly couples between glass windows waving at each other; family members singing "Happy Birthday" just outside their mom's/dad's window; or a grandchild knocking on grandparents' window to show them his/her diploma and all they can do on the other side is shed a tear or two in joy and in despair. I am not sure how to mention those countless lives taken away by this Coronavirus, but maybe I will relate the stories of my personal friends and families that either died or survived from it. They will be very personal stories, hard to tell but true to life ones.

I think I would also share the creativity that came out of this CoViD-19 era. Lots of people take on different forms and styles of facial cloth coverings, from personalized to different sizes, colors and designs. Resourcefulness from company owners that were not able to produce their primary product but instead produced something to help out the government. For example are those breweries that produced hand sanitizers from their by product or those car manufacturing that made and put together ventilators to add up to the supply chain. These are some of the amazing things that I think and hope would come down to be part of our history during this pandemic. Ingenuity was part of the pandemic too. Some of our top pharmaceutical companies worked together to come up with the best testing kits and machines in order to deliver the fastest and most accurate results. Researchers have also worked so hard to study and produce some form of treatment for CoViD-19. And now as I write this blog, they are acting fast and will soon be testing the vaccine against Coronavirus in humans with hopes of offering the cure before the end of 2020.

Would blogs like this still be in existence in two decades? Would they even know what a blog is or would this be a thing of the past? (Maybe I should print copies of these and laminate it for them..thinking hard!) If so, I would be thrilled to open this up and read it aloud. That particular moment with my future grand kids would just be so exciting and memorable. It would feel like digging a time capsule two or three decades old and opening a box of memorabilia from this era. What could be in that time capsule? Maybe a face mask, a picture from My Little Man's zoom birthday party during this pandemic, a written copy of his most priced essay about Birthday Presents this school year of distance learning or maybe our family picture donning our Mickey Mouse face masks! That would be really thrilling to see and be able to look at the little kids' facial expressions followed by unending questions for GrandMa and GrandPa.

I think we are only half way through this and there will be more to experience, remember, recall and write about so that when the time comes we can tell our grandchildren how we have lived and survived one of the deadliest pandemic in the history of modern mankind.

What will you remember from your experience during this time of CoViD-19? What can you tell your grand kids in the future? What good memories from the pandemic will you be able to share with them? How can you make something good out of this extraordinary experience now when you look back in twenty, thirty or more years?

Let us live our present life now with joy in the midst of this crisis going on left and right. Let us take part of this 'history in the making' and remember every bit of this life in time of CoViD. We can then be proud of our experiences and grateful to our Lord GOD for getting us through the hardest year of our lives...so far.

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#LifeinTimeofCoViD #historyinthemaking #myfutureself #Influenzamilestone #CDC

“LIFE OF 'NEW NORMAL' IN TIME OF CoViD”

A 'New Normal', just the thought of it stuns me. Just two months ago this world looks so different. We were having a ball spending time with new friends, creating new relationships and growing closer to a new height of comfort.

What is a new normal? Why are we even talking about a new way of living? Is it really that inevitable?

Let me picture what a new normal looks like in some part of our lives... Last Monday was my son's 10th Birthday. I think he's got a little of my Enneagram 3 in him, planning his next birthday as soon as one finishes! LOL! He really wanted to have a Basketball Party with his basketball friends from school and the Junior Warriors team. He was already planning of hosting a few boys to play ball in our backyard. Dad will do BBQ and mom will prepare some sweet treats. He will have an ice cream cake and they will just play ball and be boys.

That was actually an awesome plan. Plain and simple. Not as complicated as Mom (that's me) would have it planned her way. Then March came, spring break was just starting and the news of "Shelter-in-place" was suddenly a quick overnight reality. No more going back to school after spring break. Basketball clinic for the spring break was called off. Trips were delayed indefinitely. Leaving the house was not even an option.

His birthday was exactly in two months, and so I needed to intervene and made sure he was not making expectations for his upcoming birthday. Sit down talk was successful, he understood that with the current situation all birthday parties will have to be cancelled for this year, including his.

So Last Monday, we orchestrated a Surprise Zoom Birthday Party with his friends. I went out early to deliver some sweet treats to our friends' door, so they can join in blowing candles altogether. With the sweet treat, I taped a couple of candles and a short instruction/message. Everyone was happy to pitch in. The only downside, Baskin Robbins was close so I was not able to get an ice cream cake...but our dear friend came over with a big Red Ribbon cake with a set of birthday balloons, problem solved!

I couldn't really think of any other way for us to do the Party, so we just met for a few minutes on Zoom. When everyone was on and ready, we lighted up our candles, sang a crazy happy birthday and blew the candles! All Zoom style. It was so surreal and yet so sweet. Unconventional but great time for the boys. Our Little Man was a bit off the chart, not sure how or what feelings to express. His "Thank You" was almost inaudible, shy to the point he could have cried. He was happy to know that all his friends had a treat of his favorite cake flavor...that is confetti and chocolate. Filled with happiness to get his new favorite board game of Monopoly FortNite, to receive new set of sports clothes he put on right away and be the apple of everybody's eyes at the Zoom Party. I think he was really happy to see his friends faces all at the same time. He has been missing these boys for the longest time.

So a half-an-hour birthday party was done with half a day's effort and preparation. A story of a lifetime to tell your kids and their kids. A one-of-a-kind birthday celebration for the books.

Zoom Birthday Party!

Kidding aside, this is just a story of our son's 10th, but this is also becoming to be a typical story for most of us during this time of pandemic. We are social beings and for that reason always longing for some form of social contact with our families and friends. Nowadays, social contact means online communication, the nearest way we can do gatherings. I think this is exactly what they meant by "being together while apart". This and many other things are becoming our 'new normal'.

News of school opening are on the horizon, some mentioned of the policies that will be enforced in schools. The 'new normal' will be obvious with masks for both teachers and students. They will be doing smaller classes so the children can sit far enough apart from each other. Some universities will be offering mostly online classes. Lesson instructions are taking shape in other forms, while teachers and school staff are encouraged to  dig deeper into their creativity and resourcefulness. Maybe they wouldn't even allow parent volunteers in the classroom next school year. Poor teachers.

Have you opened up in your state? in your country? in your city? Another 'new normal' is the ever presence of hand sanitizers on the walls, by the counter, on receptionist's table and literally everywhere we go! You should have one with you to carry everywhere.

Face coverings or cloth masks are coming out in different shapes, patterns, colors, designs and features! At the gas station, each one is fashioning their favorite colors with masks and gloves...LOL!

What else is changing around us? Groceries, shops and retail stores are shifting to new ways of rendering service to the customers. Curbside pick-up is a new thing! More and more of online shopping is seen. Restaurants are opening with more deliveries and pick-ups rather than dining-in. If and when the time comes that we can dine-in in our favorite restaurants again, a lot of the interior decorations and furnishings would have changed and evolved way differently. All these changes are only for the main and only reason...OUR SAFETY!

One thing we have to remember, with all these changes happening and the adjustments forced on us (pardon me for using the word, emphasis mine), these are all, at the end of the day, for our very OWN GOOD! Public safety is a serious matter for our government. I just hope that some people (and I mean all you politicians from both sides of the aisle!) will not politicize every single decision that our government officials make. Let us pull through this together.

This 'new normal' can be a healthy therapy for some of us. Spending a lot of time together with our family in the same house 24/7, sharing and doing house chores, baking and cooking new recipes and being able to know each other's routine. Family time that we have always wanted to have, quality time to spend with your spouse and kids, seeing each other grow and evolve, can you see this happening in your own circle? I know, I know, this is not for everyone, some can get suffocated by too much time of togetherness. What I am suggesting is just to give this time with our family in our hands a chance to work; explore and try to know your family a little bit more like their everyday routine, habits and some favorite things. Working out together, doing the garden or any DIY improvements in the house or just a project you can all work on together - these can be all therapy for our families to be more intact and maybe to mend those relationships that are bleeding or needing mending.

This 'new normal' in front of us will be here for a long time, let us embrace it with poise and grace. I know that most of us can be "creatures of habit", let us just say that we are creating a new habit for this old creature. Who says "you can't teach old dogs new tricks"? Let us prove them all wrong once and for all.

As I close today's blog, may the faith and fear of the LORD be part of our 'new normal'. Let us be in reverence, in awe and in adoration of our Sovereign God. We will get through this, we hear it every time, but we will only get through this by entrusting our lives fully to the One True God that sustains us all.

”OLORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, OLORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.“ —Habakkuk 3:2

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 #lifeintimeofCoViD #newnormal #ZOOMBirthdayParty

“LIFE OF RECOVERY IN TIME OF CoViD”

As we start to re-open the state slowly and phase by phase, there is hope but there is apprehension too. Some people are optimistic about being able to go back to the normal. Meanwhile, others are anxious about what the new normal might be like. Still some are not so sure whether it is safe to be re-opening so soon and be out there in the open. How do you feel about re-opening the state? the government? the economy? the country? and actually the whole world?

With the reality of this re-opening comes a lot of considerations and RE-considerations that we have to take into our everyday life. There are things we need to keep in mind as a daily reminder like:

• The Coronavirus (the causative agent of CoViD-19) is still around, just lingering out there.

• Unless you are a CoViD-19 survivor (meaning you had it and recovered from it), you are still a prey to the Coronavirus (and that is a fact!).

• If you are 65 years old and above and/or with a pre-existing condition (no matter what your age is), you are still at a higher-risk for acquiring the virus and being sick. So you still have to stay indoors and practice social distancing to keep yourself as healthy as you can.

• Until we get a vaccine to fight this virus, it still pose a threat to the society even if you are healthy and young.

• We will have to live with the facial mask for a little longer especially when we go out or in the company of many others.

• We might also want to keep a few pairs of gloves in the car for when we go grocery/food shopping or other errands that require us to touch a surface that have been touched by mostly everyone!

• Social distancing will be a part of our daily lives from now on. Well, I just hope the government will change that into "physical distancing" because we can be physically apart and still be close to each other socially.

On the other hand, there is a need for life to be back to as much normal as is possible because .... life has to go on. In the light of this, we need to do a lot of things to keep safe and healthy. We need to help each other get up back on our feet and continue with life.

How do we go back to what we know as normal? To be honest I think a new normal is in the horizon. Our life has been altered and will permanently be changed by CoViD-19. I am the kind of person who tries to find the good in everyone and everything....so my opinion on this new normal is.... to welcome it and embrace it, if it benefits us in the long run. Come to think of it, now more than ever (unless you are an obsessive-compulsive), we are more conscious about cleanliness. Less and less people are sneezing their heart out in public. We even think twice now before we touch our face, let alone our noses.

There are a few things we can do to help the recovery of our community, our state and our government. We have to help each other by:

• SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES. Living in the East Bay we are blessed with fresh produce just around our community and this time of the year is the best time. Our local farms here in Brentwood are open for "Harvest Time", i.e. cherry and strawberry picking. Even though there are restrictions at hand, many patrons are still coming out taking their chance into experiencing fruit picking first hand. We have been doing this year in and year out, but this year we are making better choices. But in order to support our local farmers and still be safe, we are buying their product off from their shelves and farm stores.

• ORDER FROM OUR RESTAURANTS/FAVORITE FOOD STOPS. To keep our places in business, let us make use of the services they offer like the restaurants we love to go to before. Take the opportunity to avail of their special offers and pick-up or delivery options. Let us support local businesses and restaurants too.

• DONATE TO THE LOCAL FOOD BANK. Whether we donate money or whatever we have excess at home, I am sure they will be more than welcomed. I emphasize "LOCAL" so that it can go back directly to our local communities in need. And what is our local food bank? We have the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano if you live with me in the East Bay. Otherwise you can just google your local food bank or non-profit that help feed the local community.

• VOLUNTEER. There are a lot of volunteer opportunities at the moment. Check the church you attend first of all, how about your local community organizations, American Red Cross, Food Banks, Senior Centers, Meals on Wheels, or if you really wanna help all out with this CoViD-19 pandemic we have the California ALL volunteer opportunities CLICK HERE to sign-up! Some non-profits actually ask for other forms of volunteerism, it could be your time, talent, money or goods/services.

• BLOOD DRIVE. As opposite to the fake news we hear at times, we can still donate blood. Blood drives are still around and going on as there is an unending need for blood transfusion. In addition to this usual blood donation, the UCSF is looking for CoViD-19 survivors who are more than willing to donate their blood plasma (liquid component of your blood) to help treat those who are critically ill with CoViD-19. They are currently doing the clinical trials for Convalescent Plasma transfusion in order to stop the growth and spread of the virus into the infected person's body therefore giving the affected organs the needed time and space to heal without being attacked by another debilitating virus like the ones of CoViD-19. University of California San Francisco (UCSF) is offering survivor screening, CLICK HERE to know more and to sign-up. Imagine how heroic this donation and volunteering could mean for that someone almost dying and critically ill of the virus and whatever pre-disposing illness they have.

These trying times have made us all realize a lot of things. Working together and getting through this together is just a couple of them, both pointing to the same thing: COOPERATION. Re-opening the government and business means we all have to chip in and help. Everyone needs to cooperate with the government mandates and so to keep us all safe and healthy. I applaud our church leaders for sticking to the rules and following the government mandates because at the end of the day we want to show that Jesus followers are good citizens too. Cooperation is a MUST at the present time. We are slowly getting back to whatever normal is awaiting for us. Just a few steps away; just a few weeks of staying home; just a few more sacrifices into having our hairs and nails done, dining into our favorite restaurants, sitting in the church pew for the worship, playing and watching our kids games and activities....just a little bit more. Only if we can be patient just a little bit more then hopefully everything will be in order and everyone can safely go back to their own normal. Only if we will be patient..... Only if we will cooperate.... Only if we will listen to authorities.... Only if we will not politicize everything, every word, every decision (and this goes for both parties!!).... Only if we will put our faith a little bit more in GOD.... Only if....

"A New Normal"

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#LifeinTimeofCoViD #LifeofReOpening #ReOpeningTheState #helpwithRecovery #ConvalescentPlasmaDonation #UCSF #FoodBankContraCosta #SupportLocalBusiness #VolunteerDonate