Kia Kaha!

Stay Strong!

Today New Zealand’s most awesome Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told us we’re heading to Coronavirus Alert Level 4, which looks and sounds a lot like house arrest. We have 48 hours to get our shit together, and then … stay indoors for four weeks at least.

I listened to the announcement live and find myself genuinely wanting to obey and to help. Whatever combination of what she said and how she said it made me believe, which I reckon is all any politician can hope for. And I know at least one specific phrase that resonated with me… “we listened to the science”. Ok, boss, lead on.

Most of the handful of people who will read this post are already experiencing something like the quarantine we’re about to go into, some easier and some harder. Yesterday sort of felt like a snow day… mostly novel, therefore fun, with just a touch of anxiety. But that’s gone because the virus is officially here and spreading. People in my neighborhood will die sooner than expected. So now we gird: we tuck our emotional chins and raise our epidemiological fists, we tally up supplies and prepare for shortages, we confront the losses of gym and pub and library, we start Googling Winston Churchill quotes. And in the few hours remaining before all the shops close, we nip out for a bottle of gin just to be sure.

Wherever you are and whatever happens … Kia Kaha!