Our New Reality

Yes, It’s a sobering reality to turn on the television and only be able to find a Corona (aka Covid) update on every station. But more sobering than that is to go to the grocery store for items you are used to routinely buying, only to find empty shelves and homemade signs limiting the purchase of toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies to one package, if you can even find them. It feels a bit surreal, like I have somehow wandered onto the set of some dooms-day, apocalypse movie.

As you can hear echoed by anyone you know, wow..we have never experienced or lived through any event like this in our lives, at least for most of us, this is true. There can be comparisons to wars, the great depression or the Spanish flu and the like, but the global scale of this pandemic is hard for most of us to even comprehend.

When we hear about other places which have experienced tragedies, famine, natural disasters, etc., our surface response is “Aww, wow, that’s terrible, how sad for them”. But the Corona Virus Pandemic has the distinction of not being selective in where it has and continues to manifest and has succeeded in uniting us all in fear. Every one of us is living this nightmare in his or her own way. On the one hand, this pandemic has taken center stage and quieted the obnoxious and never-ending war of politics that had us wishing for an escape. But on the other, is living in fear, how we operate most effectively?

It Is What It Is..

I am not suggesting that we throw caution to the wind and be any less diligent and determined in our protective efforts at avoiding the possible infection of this virus. And like every other small (or any sized business for that matter), we get it, it is hard not to feel frightened and not know whether the business that you have worked so hard to create, will even survive. But it is also like any other tough life event we have faced, while we faced it, we could not see how we would ever get through it, but then we always manage to survive and even get stronger because of it. I suppose it is a matter of perspective and one’s own faith and life-conditioning. Sometimes you win…sometimes you learn.

So What Businesses Are Essential In PA?

Like all businesses in PA, we have been trying to figure out if our business is “essential”. If you ask the stack of bills in our inbox whether our operations are essential, the answer would be a huge, YES! But the higher powers in Harrisburg have made an official determination and the answer is, still Yes, Vital Signs, you are essential. So our business will continue to be open. I would say that it’s business as usual, but none of us may ever operate as we used to. We will however, find a new normal, that hopefully keeps us all in business.

You’re In Our Thoughts And Prayers!

Everyone copes in a different way as I mentioned above. We choose to rely on our faith and try very hard to live in the moment and not in the “what if’s” of our unknown future. We choose to not let anxiety dictate our blood pressure levels. Of course that leaves our grown kids and their frequent admonishments about staying home & not going out (but how did we know that there would be a toilet paper shortage when we only had three rolls left)! The bottom line is that we hope that whatever manner that you are using to move through this experience, is helping ease the burden of worry & fear that has very quickly permeated our planet. Be well and stay strong! This too, shall pass!