It has been a while since I wrote anything. I got caught in life stuff, burned out or just trying to figure out the best way to retire. It doesn’t really matter. All of the sudden life has changed for all of us and so, the priorities. We are back to the beginning. Just like that child on a school vacation day that used to enjoy the pigeons in the roof of the house and the birds serenades from the fruit trees in the back yard.

Every day was a beautiful day filled with the joy of playing with my sisters and brother. It was time for Hopscotch , Catch, Marble, Tug of War, Hide and Go Seek, Tag, Jumping the Rope, Tic-Tac-Toe. It was all at once! Never tired.

The afternoons were kind of romantics. We used to sing together as duo, trio, quartet, quintet, or more. There was always room for more singers. Some of my siblings had a great voice and I can see them singing with the sentiment of an adult. How romantic the afternoons were for those little kids.

We used to have meals together and to do our homework around the dinner table. Life was simple. We used to watch TV with our neighbors, to walk around the block. Boy,we were happy kids! We could do anything, really, anything to have that close contact with our friends, family and parents. We were also mischievous and got in trouble numerous times. We also have no negotiable duties at home.

Today, Covid-19 brought us back to the beginnings: To relationships,to care for the ones at home, to enjoy togetherness, to call a friend, to care for a neighbor, to spend time sharing, fooling around, enjoying doing nothing, to play, to discover new talents and yes, to stick on the cellphone as well.

Life almost always change after a calamity. In fact, there are people whose illness led them to a successful career change. Covid-19 has the potential to change the entire humanity, to dig in the heart and to re-discover the goodness hidden we all enjoy when we put others first. That’s why thousands of selfless doctors, nurses, scientists and experts work hard to try to find a cure to this illness while risking their own lives. There are also other essential workers, volunteers and even children who are working trying to alleviate the pain and sacrifice the healers and the ill’s families endure. In the end, there is not difference. We need each other as people with soul and heart. Goodness has no distinction.

The lesson was taught. We can’t fail it again. We must pray for each other. We must seek forgiveness and always have a grateful heart; but overall, we must go back to God. He will give us the strength we need in the mist of the pain, sorrow and frustration. Our eyes are tired of mourning friends and people we don’t even know but we feel so close to us. Our hearts wept…

Fear no. God is with us through this valley of the shadow of death.

Keep the faith.