A Letter to My Nephew: Coronavirus

Dear Sweet Lucas,

You are so little, but something very big and devastating is happening. You have no idea. You don't see much difference as you learn new milestones and  play with your toys. We are thankful for that. 
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Someday, we’ll tell you about the time this awful pandemic spread across the world right around your first birthday. 
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We’ll tell you about how we stayed home, just you, mom, dad and auntie and only saw others through the phone or computer for weeks? Months? Daddy still had to go to work at first. He had to remove all of his clothes in the garage and shower immediately to reduce our risk of getting anything he picked up that day.
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We’ll tell you how kids couldn't go to school and others couldn't work and most of the store were closed. We'll tell you how so many people helped each other get through it. 
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We’ll tell you how much gratitude everyone got for the little things they took for granted, like a hug from someone they loved, or the ability to go have coffee with a friend or to simply see those you cared about in person.
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We’ll tell you about how we were scared for our health, for those we love most, for those around the world who we’d never met. How we cried for people we never knew, hearing stories of how they or their loved ones died alone, in isolation.
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We’ll tell you how people, isolated in their homes would play music or sing on their porches or out windows with the rest of their neighborhood, coming together at a time of pain. How people drew rainbows and messages of hope on their windows and doors, sidewalks and driveways.
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We’ll tell you about how the stores were bare and you couldn’t find hand sanitizer or toilet paper or pasta. How we had to stand outside some stores in lines, spaced 6ft apart. How the stores did their part to provide sanitizing wipes or sanitized the carts themselves. How when you stood in line, you had to stand behind tape to ensure a safe distance. How you saw many wearing masks and gloves as they shopped and the mood was solemn. 
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We’ll tell you about how the lights went dark on Broadway and the city streets were bare and quiet, that there was no traffic, that the malls were empty. How rush hour looked like a Sunday at 6am. 
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We’ll tell you about the HELPERS: the doctors, nurses and other hospital staff, the other healthcare workers, the public servants. Those amazing people who put their lives on the line to save others and who had to deal with so much mental and physical stress. We are so thankful for them. We'll tell you about people who rallied and either bought or made protective equipment for these helpers.
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We’ll tell you about how you took your first steps during a pandemic and you could no longer go to play at the library or playground around other kids, just when you were starting to really interact with them. But, you had us. And you had family and friends who we saw through the phones and computers. You played and learned and didn't know much different.
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We’ll tell you how we counted down the days until we knew your grandparents were in the clear, for now. Or how we had our own countdown for you, mom and dad, and auntie as well as the rest of those we love. Every day was one day further to feeling some type of relief, for the time being. We didn't know what was to come.
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We’ll tell you how the Earth had a break and there was less pollution and wildlife had more chances to live and be and how amazing that was. We had hurt the planet. We gave it a break. Planes weren't flying much, cars stayed parked, factories shut down. We stopped polluting the air, if just for a short time. The air felt fresher and thinner, in a good way. 
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We’ll tell you how the world worked TOGETHER, how communities supported each other, how neighbors looked out for each other and how we all learned so much about what’s truly important. Many realized how we are all ONE. The Earth took a chance to remind us of this. It gave us something for ALL of us to go through all at once to see just how much we are in this thing called life together. No matter what religion or skin color or corner of the world we are from, we ALL were ONE.
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We’ll tell you we made it through. Many did not and we grieved for them and for our world. But those of us left, together, rose back up and built back our lives. We appreciated each other more. We looked out for each other more. We realized how precious life and freedom is. We took better care of our planet and our fellow humans. We realize we are ONE together. We made it through. ❤️​
{I VERY MUCH HOPE THIS IS HOW IT GOES.}❤️