In what seemed like weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic swept from around the globe to our doorsteps. Our lives became like suspended animation as we went home and waited. We found ways to endure â through separation, loss, growth, fear, joy, frustration, change. We've shifted our expectations and perspective to accommodate new realities.Â
Itâs been one year. More than 950 people have died in Lancaster County. Photos of crowded bars and big family dinners are like postcards from the past. Â
Weâve experienced the impact of COVID-19 in separate ways, with no two experiences exactly the same. Some of us havenât been back to our jobs in a year; others never stopped going; others donât have jobs to return to. Weâve defined and redefined essential worker. We shuttered, reopened, shuttered and reopened in waves. We taught ourselves new ways to teach our children. We hoped for a vaccine that has finally arrived. Â