Main Street Matters
Gratitude is Key to Surviving Our Pandemic Prison
34 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | NOV 2020
By Michelle Owens - Executive Director, Tybee Island Development Authority/Main Street
There is something vaguely familiar about the year 2020. A sense of Deja vu… like I’ve been here before. If you’ve been feeling that way too, I may
have finally figured out why.
The year 2020 feels like every one of those times we got sent to our rooms for something we didn’t do. It’s the ultimate time out. If you grew up in
a big family like I did, you know exactly what I mean.
When mischief was afoot in my house, rather than figure out who did what, my mother consigned all five of us kids to bedroom prison until such
arbitrary time as she felt we’d learned our lesson. (In retrospect, her time limits probably had more to do with a self-prescribed mental health break,
than any enduring life lesson for her brood of girls.)
With no idea of when we’d be sprung from our gilded cages, we skulked about our rooms, discovering and rediscovering the contents of closets, toy
boxes and stuff under the bed. That was time we dedicated to actually reading Teen Beat articles, instead of just looking at the pictures. If we stayed in
lockdown long enough, we even started to clean our rooms and organize the Monopoly money. Eventually, we forgot we were in lockdown and began
to enjoy the quiet time in our bedrooms, even discovering things for which to be grateful.
That’s 2020 in a nutshell.
We’re confined to our homes and limited in our movements for something we didn’t cause and can’t control, all thanks to COVID-19 – the cosmic
equivalent of the bad sister; the trouble-maker who caused it all. Like kids being punished, we’ve fussed and complained, pouted and dragged our
feet into our pandemic prison.
This new world order has forced us all to stay closer to home for eight straight months. We’ve grudgingly caught up on our reading, fixed things
around the house, experimented in the kitchen, obsessed over politics, and picked up new tech skills by working remotely.
Now, as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, it’s time to silence grievances and seek gratitude. Among the dying embers of Dumpster Fire 2020,
there is still much for which to be thankful. I have seen many ways that God has been gracious during this time, and I hope you do too.
I’m grateful that:
• I am “stuck” at the beach for my time out. One thing the pandemic cannot shut down is seaside sunsets and ocean breezes.
• The small city government of Tybee Island is so flexible and resilient. Employees and city leaders had big learning curves and stressors to
overcome, but no one was furloughed or laid off, and we kept every facet of government operational on some level to serve our citizenry and visitors
• The majority of Tybee businesses are locally owned and operated. Those businesses are going above and beyond to make sure our residents have
the goods and services they need to survive, even as they struggle to adjust to the ever-changing business safety standards.
• This community is like every family we’ve ever met. We disagree, gossip and complain sometimes, but when the chips are down, we pull together
and make sure everyone is safe and secure.
• I have more time to connect with family and friends. We have all learned to use the popular video chat app Zoom. At times, more than a dozen of
us have joked, teased and laughed our way through a two hour Zoom call – something we never did pre-pandemic.
We are now at a point in our collective time out where Mother Nature still is not ready to spring us from confinement. It’s time to ease into quiet
reflection and go in search of gratitude. What blessings have you found amidst this year of chaos?