I have personally held on to the believe that no matter how dark a passage is, there will be light at the end of the tunnel if we continue to keep our heads up high and persevere.
The past one year has been long and dark for all of us. Many have lost their jobs while others have had to make dramatic changes to their life to survive. Casualties have piled up and some have succumbed to the onslaught of challenges the Covid-19 pandemic brought down on all of us.
I have lost friends and family during the pandemic. And I have seen many at the brink of depression because they just couldn’t cope with the stress that the pandemic has brought onto them. Businesses have failed and families have lost their sole source of income over the last year.
I attended a funeral of a close family member recently. He was 54. Prior to the pandemic, his restaurant business was booming with busloads of foreign tourists disembarking at his place daily. Without early reservations, one could hardly have a chance to get a table for lunch or dinner. But the dark clouds blew in with the pandemic and tourists arrivals stopped. His business dipped to an all-time low to the point he could hardly even pay his staff on time. He died of a heart attack because of the stress and worries that was brought on by the pandemic.
I am sure everyone has a story to tell about who they lost during this pandemic. But there are also light-heartening stories out that which will reassure us that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
With the vaccination process starting to pick up momentum in the country, there is a good chance for us to recover from this pandemic and get back a semblance of life before the world knelt down to Covid-19.
I have registered for the vaccination. It is my shot at getting my life back. The stress from the year that was has put on some extra kilograms for me. There’s less activity in my daily life as I try to stay home more and avoid crowds as much as possible. Stress at times makes people eat less; stress tends to make me eat more. My extra-curricular outdoor activities have grinded to a halt because of the pandemic and this has not helped in reducing the extras I have put on.
But like everyone else, I am hopeful that I will regain some bits of my life pre-Covid-19. I hope to be able to get back out there to do the things I used to do while observing the new normal SOPs. Many plans have been put on hold because of the pandemic; plans that I hope to carry out when things begin to look familiar again.
What about you? Have you made plans for yourself in anticipation of a better tomorrow? Share with us your thoughts and plans. You can write us at [email protected].
Chinese New Year for me was a quite affair this year. I spent my time mostly at home as a couch potato; watching movie after movie as I munched on all the CNY goodies we had baked or stocked up for the festival. I think I actually watched a few reruns out of boredom. I am really hopeful that come the next Chinese New Year, I will be able to balik kampung and spend some time catching up with family and friends to celebrate the auspicious celebrations.
But before that, I must do my part – to get vaccinated. It is my responsibility to do so to protect family and friends around me. Call it national service if you must; but I would prefer to call it self-preservation.
So let’s go get ourselves registered and play our part in bringing back normalcy to our lives.
STAY SAFE in the meantime…..and see you at the other end of the tunnel.
