Humanity

It was 365 days ago, Friday the 13th, last year at this time. Our kids were home from school for what we all thought was maybe a really long weekend or at the very most a few weeks. My red flag was up. We would ask each other at work, ‘where are you on a scale of zero to panic?’ I was at a panic.

We knew too much, yet really nothing at all.

Strange things started to happen at the hospital. We had daily “huddles”, our guidance changed from ‘always throw away your N95’ to saving them. We were told our personal protective equipment was limited. Our nurses’ union bought extra masks with our emergency funds. We put one in our lockers for use when the hospital runs out. This is America. This is Boston. This is a nationally recognized hospital in a hub of medical brilliance, and we are buying our own protection.

Strange things started happening at home. Things shut down. Closed signs went up. People stayed in their houses. Kids learned from their bedrooms. Jobs were lost but faith was not. Hope signs went up. People sewed masks. People rallied. Resilience shone. Birthday and celebratory drive-bys became a way of celebrating. We united. We championed. We commiserated. We learned a new way to survive. We rode bikes, went on walks, played board games, and shared bottles of wine with friends and family over zoom calls. We did our best to stay healthy. Some did. Some did not. Our hearts broke into a million pieces. The sympathy card section at the stores were bare. We mourned our losses. We supported our friends and families who were suffering.

I wrote an article about wanting our humanity back, but here’s the thing I didn’t realize: humanity was never lost. In fact, humanity which is defined as the virtues that make us human, including loving one another and having compassion, had never shone brighter. We are fighters, we are warriors, we are the survivors of 2020. We will forever be changed because of it.

We are the epitome of Humanity.