Hey there,
Are you still there?… ‘cause I’m still here too. As always, I hope you and those you love are healthy and (fairly) happy. Today I wasn’t going to write a note concerning our current status. Why bother? Nothing has changed… but of course everything has.
The one positive I’ve observed over the past week is that the numbers are stabilizing, in our region. But remember our unique region is diverse and although North Jersey and the NYC areas may be “more stable”….we are also influenced by Philadelphia and its suburbs, which may be just starting to be impacted. (and we won’t get into our status as a resort destination or that the weather will continue to improve.)
Anyway….the positive is that we have been able to take a deep breath over the past few weeks and regroup (slightly) from the initial disruption to our lives. In my opinion, I credit our community’s ability to responsibly adapt to the concept of social distancing as the number one contributor to controlling the spread of COVID-19 locally. Unfortunately, I stated 2 weeks ago that “politics and apathy were beginning to muddy the waters…” Well, those currents continue to intensify and divide us on many levels.
We all feel it…none of us is perfect… Earlier this week I …. a 48-year-old chiropractor, a responsible husband and father of two…. told another grown man… while arguing via email…. in print… that I was “not going to get into a pissing match with him… and not to get his panties in a wad…”
So, I get it…. Whether you’re quarantined at home due to a feeling of civic responsibility and fear or you’re protesting in the streets because of a feeling of civic responsibility and fear…(hmmm…)… we all get it.
Why do we constantly need big events/disasters to remind us that on some level we are all the same and “connected” … How could we not be connected…? But we all obviously feel it…call it anger… call it fear… call it frustration…call it depression…call it emptiness. Call it whatever you need to. It can vary and change depending on the day… but when it really gets fired up and you feel it start to rise… it actually becomes visceral…you can feel it… literally… it twists and gets tight and it hurts just a little… it squeezes. That piece of humanity…that thread is what connects us all… I can’t name it, but I know I feel it…and I know you do too. We have all had that powerful ache of quiet rage/passion deep inside…intense emotion…when you want to scream but can’t… you want to hit and swing, but don’t…you want to cry, but won’t….
As we continue to move forward and adapt to our evolving future amid COVID-19, let us continue to be aware of our shared humanity and respect our individual journeys.
We are optimistically planning to reopen slowly, at a yet to be determined date, in May. We will post our updated practice protocols and office hours in the near future. Thank you for your continued patience during these surreal and uncharted times.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Bott