About six weeks ago, our world turned upside down. Offices, stores, restaurants, theaters and schools were closed. Events were cancelled or postponed. We were told to stay at home if we could and to wear masks and stay at least six feet apart if we couldn’t. We learned of people dying or losing loved ones.

People are quite resourceful at times like these, and even among all the bad news, there are hopeful nuggets—people leaving hospitals, fewer ICU admits, crowds cheering those on the medical front lines in a war they had never imagined.

We heard new words and unfamiliar phrases. “Zoom meeting”, “pandemic”, “coronavirus”, “social distancing”, “Unmute” (Zoom),   “Abundance of caution”, “Flatten the curve”—all now part of our everyday vocabulary. Not to mention “quarantini”.

I long for the day when all communications don’t end with “Stay well”.