Pushing the Pause Button March 20, 2020

In the midst of my career as a professor, coupled with single motherhood, I often wished for a pause button that could grind the world to a halt.  There would be no scientific papers being published or reviewed, no bills due, no meetings, no one rushing to work, and no news.  Instead, we could insert a few moments or a few days of tranquility to catch our breath and to appreciate simple pleasures and each other.

Enter Coronavirus.  We are now in a world that has slammed on the brakes, but perhaps to an extent that even my wishes couldn’t have had imagined.  San Francisco went into lock-down three days ago, with many adults working from home and kids being instructed online. The San Francisco Ballet and Symphony, two of my staples, have shuttered for the season.  Colleges throughout the nation have folded up for the semester.  Libraries, gyms, restaurants, bars, pretty much any place you might want to go is out of business.  Only the groceries, the pharmacies, and a few hardware stores remain open.

And suddenly, a huge opportunity for humanity has opened up.  People are spending time with their families.  Instead of sweating it out at a spin class, people are taking their bikes into the fresh air.  Dogs see their masters.  My cat and I are nearly inseparable, and my garden is getting some long-overdue attention. 

But in my imagined scenario, we could also push a play button and, like a song paused in midstream, we would pick back up just where we had left off.  The stock market would be unaffected, no one would have lost his job, kids would be back at school and proceed to graduation, weddings and reunions would proceed as planned.

The coronavirus shutdown isn’t going to be like that, and the longer we pause with that button pressed, the direr the consequences will be for our mental health and for our economy. I am starting to wonder whether the cure, in the long run, will prove worse than the disease.