PATIENCE

November 8, 2020. 

We're entering the 36th week of sheltering in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. When it began back in March, we vaguely throught we might be pretty much back to normal by fall. Now it's November and there's no end in sight. Vaccines are being developed and tested, but it's likely to be another year at least before it's perfectly safe to venture out. Many people have irresponsibly been gathering in groups large and small, and the result right now is a frightening spike in the incidence of the disease. It's going to take a lot of patience to wait this pandemic out, and at my age of 81, it's possible that it will not end during my life-time. 

I was scheduled for knee joint replacement at the beginning of April, but by then the pandemic had gotten bad and elective surgeries were cancelled. As the pandemic slowed in May, my surgery was rescheduled for the first of June. That actually happened, and I embarked on a four month recovery. The second knee was replaced at the end of September, fortunately still at a time when the incidence of Covid-19 was more-or-less under control. If I'd waited until now, the hospitals might once again be overwhelmed with Covid-19 cases. 

The second knee seems to be taking longer to heal than the first one did. Or maybe I'm not remembering correctly. Or maybe I've run out of patience. My recovery has corresponded with the run-up to the 2020 presidential race. With no clear projected winner and the prospect of another four years of Trump, everyone needed all the patience they could muster to wait until election day arrived. 

We were warned ahead of time to expect that unless Biden won by a landslide, it might be a day or two before we learned the final result. There was a record-breaking turnout, and a much higher number of mail-in ballots because of the pandemic. Early numbers indicated that Biden had a chance to win, and as Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday crept by, his lead strengthened. Finally by Saturday morning, he had won the necessary 270 electoral college votes and was declared the winner. Along with many others, I celebrated and at the same time, my physical recovery took a sudden turn for the better. Was the strain on my patience taking a physical toll? I'll never know, but I'm thankful that the end of the healing process is now in sight, and that the election turned out the way it did. 

There are still claims from the Trumpers that the election was rigged, but they seem unlikely to amount to anything. Then there's the question of the damage Trump could do as a lame-duck president. And the medical community predicts ever-worsening numbers of Covid-19 through the rest of the year. So I guess I need to take a deep breath, re-stock my supply of patience, and hope for better times in 2021.