STATON: A mask is the new normal, but how much should we worry?

Published 11:43 am Friday, May 29, 2020

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Though it still seems odd to see other shoppers wearing masks in public places, it does seem to be becoming more prevalent.

It appears to me that the majority of people are wearing masks, especially the elderly.

I am happy when I see little children being protected with masks on.

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It still seems odd to me that I have become one of the elderly. My mind does not want to acknowledge that.

Early in the morning, when I first get up,  my body tells me it is wearing out, but once I work the cricks out, it seems to improve.

However, sometime during the night, when the weather changes, that old guy named Arth Ritis seems to creep in some way, and I start to feel my age.

I had heard about him from a lot of old women, but I never knew he could be so creepy or painful.

If that was not enough, this thing called coronavirus reared its ugly head.

If growing old was not bad enough, this disease seems to just love the elderly. When Michael de Montaigne spoke these words about fear, I know he had never heard about coronavirus: “He who fears he will suffer already suffers because of his fear.”

I just have this feeling that he would be wearing a mask, too, and that he would also have a bit of fear.

I let my mind go wild sometimes. I think of how our hands exchange money each time we pay for something, and it has been in numerous hands before ours.

Then I think of how many hands have touched our food before we get it from the grocery store. I find myself washing my bananas before I peel them now. I think it is a practice I will continue even after the virus scare is over.

Hopefully, I will stay in the habit of washing my hands longer and more often.

Some of the things we have increased doing have definitely been for the good.

By the end of this week, I am sure the beauticians and barbers will be crawling into bed bone tired. They are probably wondering why they wanted things to open back up. At least our town folks will start to look a little neater.

Even our voting has changed, and for some, like me, mail-in voting has not been accepted well. It may be a nightmare for our county clerks across the country.

I cannot help but think of our president and the leaders of the states who have so much more to deal with than they ever dreamed when they took office. I am certain they, too, are more tired right now.

William A. Ward once said, “Man, like the bridge, was designed to carry the load of the moment not the combined weight of a year at once.”

I cannot imagine being the president during these troubled times. He is carrying the weight of our country on his shoulders.

What we recognized as normal in January of this year is totally gone. We are going to need to adjust to a new way of life.

Being my age, it seems to be extra hard on us because we remember buying ground beef at 29 cents a pound. I would have never dreamed of seeing ground beef being $6 a pound.

Most seniors are on a limited income, and higher prices at the grocery store really makes a difference each month for them. I have to wonder how couples with young children are doing also.

The Bible tells us not to worry.

We are not even to worry about the clothes we wear.

In Matthew, we are told to look at how beautiful the Lord clothed the grass of the fields with flowers, and if he clothed that so beautifully, he would clothe us much better.

However, I want to close with this passage in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

It makes sense, doesn’t it?

Now, I just remind myself of this daily.

Sue Staton is a Clark County native. She is a wife, mother and grandmother who is active in her church, First United Methodist Church, and her homemakers group, Towne and Country Homemakers.