Today is Easter and four weeks ago today, my wife and I returned from a trip to our daughters and went into what I refer to as the “corona quarantine”.

For some reason, this emergency caught my attention early on. Maybe it’s because I’m in my early 60’s and that’s the age they were saying where the mortality rates began to really increase. Maybe it’s because of the videos my son was sending me from Twitter in February that showed people falling over and dying in the streets of Wuhan. Maybe its the fact I spent time out in Iowa during the “Bird Flu” outbreak in 2015 when 38 million chickens and 10 million turkeys were destroyed in order to protect our food chain. Or, maybe its a combination of everything. All I know is that for some reason, this emergency caught my attention very early on. It scared me and made me think.

Now, one month and 20,000 American lives later, I sit here and wonder what I’ve learned during this current corona crisis. I have to say that again – one month and 20,000 American souls gone from the corona virus. It impacts me even more when I think America lost 55,000 of her sons and daughters during 7 years in Vietnam. At this rate, we will surpass 55,000 in about two months?

So over the past four weeks of seeing corona virus news every time I turn on the television or web browser, I’m reminded that life is truly short and your health is truly your wealth.

I’ve thought of the too many times where my priorities were not in proper order. I think of the days when my kids would ask me to play a game and I was too busy, or think of the too many times when someone was speaking to me and I didn’t hear them because my mind was elsewhere. For all those times, I apologize.

So what have I learned over the past four weeks?

I’ve learned to have a greater appreciation for the grocery store workers (man, that’s how I made my money for senior prom), the truck drivers, the distribution workers, the delivery folks. I think of all the people who step up to play their part ensuring we can still have food on the table (I’m also angered and disappointed by their employers and managers who don’t ensure they are properly protected).

I have an even greater respect and admiration for the nurses and doctors who push on each day with the knowledge and fear that they are getting exposed to a very dangerous enemy. One they can’t see or feel until it’s too late. A couple of words come to mind – brave, dedicated, humane, heroic.

There are so many to thank for helping us keep the loss of life in the tens of thousands instead of the millions and to them I say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I now have a much greater attention and appreciation for what goes on around me. I’m now learning to play Fortnite. Yup, Grandpa, for the first time, played Fortnite last night and nope, this old Marine didn’t have some magical moment against the enemy. I was actually the one who was wounded several times and it was one of my three sons who picked me up and saved me. I know that sounds silly, but at age 62, Dad was learning and trying to play the kids games and it was with my 37 year old twins and 29 year old son. Its never too late to reconnect. We stayed up playing until 1230 am. And we will do it again. Soon, real soon (I also can’t let my grandchildren beat up on me – haha).

I’m also reminded that 7 years ago this month, I was blessed with a second chance of believing. While I’m not a religious man, I do consider myself a believer and a spiritual man. So, 7 years ago my grandson was born and the circumstances around his birth rocked me to my soul. God chose to save him. I could not impact the situation. I was helpless. It was through him that I began to truly believe that God saves.

In a few hours, I’m going to use my Zoom account to have another Daly family gathering. We did so last week and it was the first time we were all together in almost two years. It was awesome seeing the looks on the faces of my 5 children and 9 grandchildren as they all enjoyed each others company. I didn’t say too much. I just mainly sat back and took it all in.

My message to you on this Easter? I pray that you too are getting back to doing whats most important because not too long from now, the hustle and bustle will return. Enjoy life while you can and may God bless those who we’ve lost, and will lose in the coming days, weeks and months. Our health is truly our wealth.

Tom Daly
Founder, Ridgeback Business Solutions