What I Would Have Her Know

I’ve thought about what to write about the world right now. I decided I would write a letter to my granddaughter who is 18 months old. She will only know about this virus and the chaos it brings through stories. She won’t remember the fear of getting sick, or the panic of shoppers clearing the shelves. She is blissfully unaware and happily cocooned in the protection of toddlerhood. Lucky girl.

Dear Rory,

Today you came to my house for dinner. It’s Sunday and this is what we do. Your hair fell in your face because there was no church and your mom didn’t want to bother you with pulling it back. As usual, when I held out my hands, you fell forward into my arms. This is the best part of my week.

Our world is topsy-turvy right now and I wish I had your sense of none-of-it. To you, all is the same. All is well. You are fed and played with and held by so many loving hands. Your uncles fight over who gets to shower you with attention. In the end, Noah wins because he is your favorite. (Next to me.)

This virus has shocked us all. Even those who were prepared were taken by surprise. Here’s a rundown of what is going on—

• The store shelves are empty. People have panicked and rushed to buy all the food they can. Toilet paper is in short supply, though no one is sure why. We’re waiting for the stores to restock, and hopefully, for calmer heads to prevail.
• Schools have closed. This means Uncle Noah and Uncle Max are home for at least 3 weeks. They think it’s a vacation, but that will change when the teachers get their schoolwork ready. Uncle Spencer is having his college classes online, which is good. His work at the school will be put on hold, which is not so good.
• Church has gone fully home-based. We were prepared for this by our amazing prophet over a year ago. This is such a testimony to me that we are led by our Savior and that He knows the end from the beginning. I look forward to going back to regular church meetings, I miss the companionship of other members and the music. (We don’t sing much at home, though I guess we should ignore our lousy voices and do it anyway.)
• Papa and I are still working. He can’t work from home and we are blessed that he still has work to do in a shop where they have only a handful of workers. I may end up working from home, but for now I go to the office where we are ‘socially distancing’ from one another.
• My work in a travel agency is eye-opening right now. I would have never considered the fallout from something like this to the travel industry before this job. We have cancelled tours and may have to cancel more. People’s plans have come to an abrupt halt. It’s sad. We’re all looking forward to a return to normalcy.
• Your great-grandparents are staying home to stay safe. This virus would be devastating to them with their age and health problems. Luckily we live in a time when we can keep in touch in other ways.
• Your other uncles all work in fast food. So far, things are okay, but that could change. Everything could change.

I think that’s the biggest common factor here—change. We don’t know what will happen from day to day. The news is constantly updating with new developments, and right now they aren’t good.

   But, in all of this there is one other common denominator—hope. We have hope in the fact that Heavenly Father loves His children. He knows what is happening and He knows what is best. He is in control. The best preparation any of us can have is faith in Him and our Elder Brother. We put our trust in Them and move forward, knowing we will get through this and, eventually, everything will be okay.

So much love,

Mia