The Fire Station sits quietly tucked away in my neighborhood. Fire trucks and ambulances come and go, day and night. When they leave for a run, they respectfully silence their sirens until they leave the neighborhood. Just for a fleeting moment, Flashing Red Lights fill our rooms, and then suddenly they are gone.

Until last Friday Night. When the Outside World came crashing down around me and I couldn’t keep it all together.

The fire trucks left the station, but immediately pulled over to the house next door.

Lights flashing. In silence. Firefighters in Masks waiting.

An ambulance quickly appeared. An older lady living in the house was escorted to the ambulance.

And the ambulance took her away.

No one knew anything. The neighborhood was once again quiet. Almost too quiet.

And then I began to connect the dots. Mr. Doodle sometimes helps the neighbor fix cars. Could this be enough contact for the virus to spread? Does the lady have COVID-19? And now we may too?

Then the tears came. Fast. I’ve tried so hard to keep everyone safe. Clorox wiping everything. Hand washing constantly. Eating Healthy. A Bit of Exercise. And Especially Social Distancing.

But then the virus may have entered through our back door.

The neighbor lady came home the next morning. Thankfully No fever. No virus. She had felt dizzy and weak and possibly had a mini-stroke. But she was fine.

A lesson that we need to heed. Social Distancing is working. We need to be patient. We need to stay strong.

We are all in this Together. Stay Safe. Stay Strong. Stay Well.