To Ease the Passing of Time

When Maria wants to announce that she has something important to say, she either starts with “You know what” or “I’ll tell you this.” It doesn’t have to be something crucial or very important, just a notch or two above our ordinary small talk. Last night, as we had almost completed our third loop walking around our lonely and deserted street during this period of social distancing and confinement, Maria had something important to tell me. I don’t remember which one of the introductions she used, but this is basically what she had to say:

It is so true, I thought, as we kept walking silently for a while. And I remembered something that my sister Louise had told me a couple of days before. She told me that she and her husband Pierre were also enjoying this awkward time of confinement and social distancing together, that it had brought them closer. She also told me that somehow she felt peaceful in spite of all that turmoil.

It doesn’t mean that we have to become our own little islands of peace and comfort in the middle of the storm, and forget about the plight of the rest of the world. Maria truly believes that prayer can make a difference, and she prays. And I know that my sister prays too. Maria also phones some of her friends who are lonely to ask them how they are doing and cheer them up a little bit. Louise told me tonight that she and Pierre had picked up a pizza from the restaurant and left it on one of their children’s doorstep for their grandchildren.   

I think that what Maria was trying to tell me is that we don't have to put our happiness on hold because of that stupid virus. And we damn well know that if we can still afford to make that choice, we should be thankful for all those who work on the front line of that war in clinics and hospitals, for the police officers who keep us safe, for all those people whose job it is to make sure that we don’t run out of food and medicine, and let’s not forget the ones who still pick up our garbage regularly.

What Maria had to tell me last night is very important. If we wait until everything is perfect and under control to be happy, one day we’ll realize that it’s too late, and we won’t be able to go back to where we are now. Now is the time to be happy.

This brings me back to a song by Leonard Cohen that I’ve already put at the end of another article that I wrote about Maria a few years ago. “You got me singing even though the news is bad, even though it all looks grim.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVnxP6e9i-0

P.-S.: Last night, as we were walking, we saw a rabbit on someone’s lawn. Maria said, “I have to remember to bring him a carrot tomorrow night.” And she did. If you're happy, why not make someone else happy.