‘Life but not as I’ve known it, the things we took for granted stripped away’

Take your mind back to December 2019, just three months or so ago. We were knee deep in the silly season. The time of year when we begin to panic about food, presents, who’s coming to lunch and who isn’t, will we have enough chairs and all the stuff that seems so important at the time. No thought about sufficient toilet paper, hand towel, anti-bacterial wipes or hand sanitiser (whatever that is).

Supermarket shelves are filled with Christmas fare. Not a question of what, but of how much? No shortage of choice. We attend Christmas lunches with the crowd from work at the local restaurant. A get-together with friends who we will not see over the Christmas period. Hugs and cuddles for everyone, whether we like them or not. The credit card gets a thumping but that’s okay, the stock market is going gangbusters, superannuation is growing, jobs are secure. Life’s good.

Uncle Brian had a knee replacement and will hobble into Christmas lunch on crutches. Graham, down the road isn’t quite so fortunate, he had a severe heart attack and will probably spend Christmas in hospital. And poor Aunt Pearl, her funeral was last week. She was 93. She had a good innings. Tina and Rashid will be here with their newly born daughter.

But eh, that’s life, isn’t it? People get sick, people die, babies are born. The life cycle continues uninterrupted.

Christmas is a bit special this year, family are flying in from overseas and interstate, relatives some have never met, and others haven’t seen in years. Christmas lights are up; outshone the bloke over the road again this year. The Christmas tree is in the corner by the window all decked out with lights and baubles and surrounded by brightly wrapped presents in all shapes and sizes.

We sit together of an evening, eating our meal of spaghetti bolognese or curry and rice or perhaps butter chicken or maybe a meal at the local Chinese restaurant with some neighbours. Coffee at the local cafe a regular event.

A couple of weeks later we welcome the New Year, 2020, and with it the usual hopes of peace, love, health and prosperous. If only we knew what was about to befall us.

In that world, which now seems so far away our news bulletins were headlined by the bushfires, Hong Kong riots, Brexit, assaults, police pursuits and a casual reference to the civil unrest going on around the world. Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Afghanistan, Mexico and Syria were all featured.

We saw scenes of sick, dying and displaced people seeking respite from horrors beyond our comprehension. Situations totally beyond their control. Tormented by a visible enemy. Borders closed to them. Separated from families. Children starving, not from shortages of some items, but from no food at all.

No panic buying, they had too many other things to panic about. Not worried about washing hands, they have no water.

The elderly being carried by younger family members. Large numbers crowded onto backs of trucks. Overcrowded camps — no social distancing considerations. Very limited medical personnel and supplies. The old and very sick left to die through insufficient resources.

No festive season for them. Nothing for them to celebrate. Toilet paper the very least of their concerns.

We greeted these scenes with the occasional “oh dear” but generally it was all a little ho-hum. Happening on the other side of the world; what do you expect me to do about it?

Now, like those people on the other side of the world, we are at war. But our enemy is silent and invisible, striking at the most vulnerable in our society. A worldwide pandemic, the likes of which most of us have never experienced before and hopefully will never again.

In using the analogy of the war-torn countries, in no way am I meaning to detract from the plight faced by the refugees and misplaced, but to simply highlight the irony of the situation. What was ho-hum is now so very real to us and therefore becomes so much more important somehow. It emphasises how we all can be brought to our knees by events far beyond our control.

Life can change in an instant. Things we took for granted stripped away and things previously of no consequence become so important.

Just as the events of 9/11 changed our lives, so will the happenings we are currently facing. However, whereas 9/11 created derision, discrimination and hatred, hopefully, our current experience will result in caring, understanding and acceptance of our individual vulnerability.

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