Hope. The poet Emily Dickinson wrote that it is “the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.”
Hope is the thing that keeps us going even through the worst of storms, the anchor that provides stability amid the chaos.
Sometimes that hope is based on experience.
When the calendar page flips from February to March, I always feel a rush of hope. It won’t be long now. Spring will be here, regardless of what our local prognosticator, Woodstock Willie, says on Feb. 2.
Granted, winter no doubt will spring a few more surprises on us so that we don’t forget that we live in the Midwest, where winters are winters and the residents are tough and resilient.
Hope reminds me that spring will find a way. Maybe it’ll be messy and windy and rainy, but the crocus, daffodils and tulips are coming. We’re almost there and I know that I can hang on for a few more weeks.
Hope also can be based on seeing signs that perhaps the challenge we’ve been dealing with is finally coming to an end. Or at least is going to give us a break.
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday offered new guidelines for wearing masks indoors, I could feel my hope soaring. That also came on the heels of the state of Illinois dropping its own indoor mask mandate, which took effect Monday.
Those of us who were paying attention to the number of COVID-19 cases in our area, as well as the trend recently of decreasing numbers of hospitalizations, probably hoped that this would be coming.
Still, there are caveats to all this good news. The CDC still is recommending that people continue to wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high.
The new guidelines also don’t change the requirement that people wear masks on public transportation and in airports, train stations and bus stations.
Happily, a quick check of McHenry County on the CDC’s website at cdc.gov shows that we are in the “low” level, based on hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.
An important thing the CDC points out, however, is this: “People may choose to mask at any time. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.”
Even with the “low” community level, the CDC urges all of us to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and to get tested if you have symptoms.
The CDC also acknowledges that cities and institutions even in areas where the community level is low may set their own rules about masking.
No doubt that’s not what a lot of people want to hear. Goodness knows, I’ve seen people ignore the rules to wear masks even when they were mandated. I’ve been called out about wearing a mask even when the case counts in this county were really high.
The CDC also points out that we aren’t done with COVID-19. No doubt we will experience more waves of cases, particularly in the fall and winter when a lot of people are gathering. This isn’t surprising because that’s what happened the past couple of years.
Still, this is a hopeful sign, even for those like me who are in the risk-averse camp. I’ve been extra careful about where I’ve gone and when I’ve taken Tony with me.
Some of us might be inclined to keep wearing those masks for a while longer. That’s up to us.
My wearing a mask is not an indictment of someone not wearing theirs. It just means that I have reasons to be careful. I hope we can all agree to be kind to those who choose to continue to wear masks. Let them be.
I have hope that maybe we really are going to be able to get back to normal. And that we can finally put all this arguing over masks in the rearview.
Here’s hoping.
• Joan Oliver is the former Northwest Herald assistant news editor. She has been associated with the Northwest Herald since 1990. She can be reached at jolivercolumn@gmail.com.
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