It felt like May was particularly rainy and glum this year. Maybe that’s because mowing season has started and I find myself needing to schedule 30-min blocks in between the sprinkles and showers so I don’t end up with a mire in the back yard.

Also…it’s early-JULY.

We were so happy to mark the end of 2020, and already 2021 is half over. A close friend lamented this morning that in the moment, individual days seem to be long and torturous, yet strings of them grouped together seem to disappear in a flash. It has been hopeful to see provincial governments put plans into place for reopening society given the aggressive vaccination plans leading into the summer.

My thoughts today aren’t even pandemic-related per se; in fact, my last post was about visualizing that finish line and trusting the public health officials who have access to the best evidence in the world. Instead, I’m really marveling at the amount of time spent and time lost since first receiving word in December 2019 that an emerging virus could potentially amount to a global threat. That was a full 18 months ago.

As I settle comfortably into my middle-age with a pharmacy career that spanned two decades in June, 18 months represents the halfway point to a mortgage renewal, or a quarter of the way to paying off the car. Thankfully, my job hasn’t been reduced or cut, and I have had all the means to hunker down and isolate for prolonged periods. The same can’t be said for so many who are struggling, so I am thankful my family has been healthy and safe. For perspective, that time period represents about a 1/30 of my life experience. I immediately think of my kids in junior high and high school. At a time when they should be out and about, networking, learning lessons on independence and consequence, those 18 months have meant that approximately 10% of their lives have been dominated by public health messaging and restrictions.

Sometimes I take for granted what it felt like to be a teenager. Professionally, counseling them on acne creams and birth control is part of the daily routine for me, but extremely important to them. Keeping focus in the classroom on a sunny day in May or June used to be challenging enough, but taking classes from home on Zoom calls ratchets up the difficulty. With after-school club activities all but eliminated for the entire year, there has been minimal talk of band practice, theatre rehearsals and volleyball drills. I hesitate to say the year was lost because we learned so much that will help us as a society in the future, but many opportunities for personal development were certainly missed.

We are now poised to enter phase 3 of reopening here in NS. There will be larger gathering limits, indoor dining, and tourist attractions are polishing up in hopes of a busy summer of travel. It really can’t come soon enough; looking through that hourglass, we’ve watched a lot of sand fall to the bottom. The only sand I hope to see this summer will be under a beach towel, as friends and family gather to smell some BBQ and watch the sun go down.

Time is a precious gift. Cherish those moments when you can, as time has a way of marching on whether we notice or not.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, employer or affiliation.