It’s December 31, 2020…finally!

The year had started out as a somewhat normal new year, but by late February the wheels fell off!
Officials in Washington, heads of the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control, Dr. Anthony Fauci and a host of Chinese Communist Party leaders were telling of the coronavirus that was first identified as a result of a “wet market” in a town we in America had never heard of…Wuhan.
It didn’t take long before the whole world was being hit with the lethal virus. That put the health world into a whirlwind. Doctors were telling everyone to wash their hands, don’t shake a stranger’s hand, and for goodness sake don’t breathe on anyone.
It launched U.S. into a new norm.
A whole nation was sent into lockdown with only essential businesses allowed remain open. (Restaurants were carryout only.) Health clubs, and many small businesses were forced to close their door. Churches were shuttered.
People began flooding hospitals. Supplies of personal protection products were in short supply. We were initially told not to wear masks. Then, after deliberation among the health brain trust we were instructed to “wear a mask” in public. Avoid contact with others.
Our children were introduced to distance learning. That meant no in-person classes. Some struggled with the entire concept, while a computer literate few managed to maneuver through the new reality.
Some let-up was experienced during the summer of 2020. Swimming pools, sports and socializing were opened up. A sense of normalcy returned.
Then, as summer yielded to fall, the number of cases once again flooded hospitals.
Until early December, Dodge County seemed to have dodged a bullet with no recorded COVID-19 deaths recorded. Then our first loss of life hit and then another and another. It seemed to bring the tragic reality of the pandemic home.
Fortunately, we were able to refocus on Christmas. Not even a virus was going to limit our celebration of the holiday.
Tomorrow we’ll head into 2021 and the unknown. We are bolstered with the fact that two vaccines have been released into society and hope. More vaccines may find their way into the arms of frightened Americans desiring a cure and being able to crawl out from under lockdowns and forced isolation.
I would like to suggest one rule going into the new year: Don’t discuss 2020!