Essential Workers  by Susan Adamson

 

At this time last year, I do not remember ever hearing the term “essential workers”.  When first hearing it after the arrival of the pandemic, I assumed that it meant doctors, nurses, and hospital employees.  They are on the front lines and helping the sick and so much more.  With the passing of time, this definition has had a dramatic expansion.

Then I saw a truck driver being interviewed.  They were having problems with restaurants and motels being closed on major highways and I realized, “Wait!  We need them to deliver food and necessary goods ‘everywhere’”.   And suddenly the list was endless.  Grocery store workers, gas station attendants, bank employees, trash collectors, and the list goes on.  All needed to keep the economy inching along to keep us safe.  And sadly, since eating out has become somewhat limited, fast food drive-thrus have become vital.  I am retired, have a small income, and felt that I could isolate for a while and be fine.  Toilet paper hoarding seemed funny at first, but it did not take long to realize that I needed more than toilet paper to survive.  I could get along without clothes shopping but food is a necessity.  Even stocking up, I will need certain things like milk, fresh fruit, and vegetables more than once a year.  So now we need someone to stock the shelves in stores, someone to check people out, and keep the stores clean.   And what if something breaks down in my little house?  I may need a plumber, electrician, or someone to fix the furnace.  And, God forbid, that my phone stop working.  It does not take long to realize how much we need each other.  The gas stations need to stay open.  People need their jobs, a steady income, and the ability to get to and from work. Not everyone is retired or has the capability to work from home.

It does not seem possible that we have made it through nearly a year and every morning my heart is overflowing with gratitude.  “Thank you” seems so inadequate and insufficient.  So many people are daily taking care of others, facing obstacles and dissension with more courage than any superhero I have ever heard of.  Teachers and students are facing problems never imagined.  Remember Sonny and Cher?  Well, the beat goes on….

Tears pool when thinking about the sadness that so many have dealt with in hospitals and nursing homes and being separated from their own families and so compassionately dealing with families of those in their care.  And, amid the chaos, there are mental health issues, depression, addiction, alcohol increase, abuse, neglect, and the beat goes on….

There is another group that I am eternally grateful for that consists of the family and friends that I have been communicating with since the beginning.  Those whose words of encouragement and wisdom have given me a reason to get up in the morning. Those that, in the midst of riots, complaints, bad news, and arguing, have brought laughter into the day.  Those that have not left their homes other than pick up groceries at the “pick-up” parking lot but have remotely helped others.  We have all shared words of encouragement, ideas of how to cope, things to do, how to zoom, sharing fast food through car windows, dropping off food, been respectful of the boundaries of others and simply showing concern, compassion, and love on those “hard days” and all the days in between.  We have tried to keep each other laughing.  I have learned to forgive myself if I end up binge watching a series on Netflix for 6 straight hours.  So, thank you for answering your phone and spending time together when we cannot get together in person.  Thank you for chatting when neither of us had anything to say but needed to hear a human voice.  Thank you for reminding me that we can help each other when all seems useless. And thank you to the thousands developing, organizing, and distributing the miraculous vaccine.  And the beat goes on……