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Some people will tell you the last 360-some-odd days have gone by incredibly slowly. Others will tell you they’ve gone by very quickly. 

I’ll argue for the former. The last year has been a blur. Not that any other year hasn’t been a blur in my life, or most people’s lives.  

But it’s gone by so quickly because we haven’t had the milestones along the way, those occasions that we would normally get.  

Sure, we’ve had some big things happen despite (or in spite of) the pandemic, but many of the things we were looking forward to weren’t able to happen during the past year.  

As far as those community events that we associate with a certain time of year, in most cases, they didn’t occur, or they happened in a very different format. And so certain things sneak up on you during the year. 

At times, it’s felt like 365 days of Groundhog Day, both personally and professionally. Some really cool things have happened in my life. Some great things have happened professionally. We’ve been able to fill each paper each week with engaging local content, which isn’t always easy. 

But at least we haven’t had to resort to using just press releases, COVID updates and other drivel with non local specifics.  

I’ll admit that I was dismissive about COVID-19 right up until about March 15 – a couple of days after the lockdown began. I made wisecracks about it. I jokingly tried to sell a bottle of Purel for $20. And even on March 1, I never imagined we’d find ourselves in this situation. 

By the time March 16 rolled around, I knew this was going to be something that would affect every aspect of our lives, regardless of how many cases we had here.  

We hear all of the health experts talk about COVID fatigue. By March 20 hit, I was sick of hearing about it. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

A year ago, we really knew nothing about this virus. It was new. It originated in an area whose government is not known for its transparency. (Note: I’ve met some great people who are Chinese, or are of Chinese descent. Not all people support China’s government. It’s been sad to see the violence directed to so many of Chinese descent for something that’s not their fault). 

We had to go into the full lockdown a year ago. But I’m glad Saskatchewan didn’t return to lockdown in late 2020 or early 2021, even though we had many more cases in the second six months of the pandemic than the first six months. 

And I get the frustration of people down here. I can’t say for sure, but my guess is that South East Zone 4 – which includes Estevan and is one of the most populous sub-zones in the province – likely has the fewest cases per capita of any of the 32 Saskatchewan sub-zones over the past year. 

I get there would be risks with inconsistent regulations. If South East Zone 4 gets reduced restrictions because we’ve had fewer cases, then we’ll have more people coming here from elsewhere. And it can take the wrong person coming here to create a significant increase in cases.

So while our case numbers remain low, we still have to be smart and vigilant.

I feel terrible for those who have lost a loved one because of this virus. No matter what we’ve been through over the past year – and so many people have lost so much – nothing’s worse than losing a life due to COVID. And while most of the fatalities due to COVID are in the over-70 crowd, a lot of people who have died with COVID still had years ahead of them. 

I certainly hope that we’re in the homestretch, that the different vaccines will do what they’re supposed to do, that they will be effective as the virus continues to mutate, and that we can return to a semblance of normal sooner rather than later. 

I look forward to taking photos without masks, to telling people to stand shoulder to shoulder, and to covering the myriad of events that have been part of our community for so long.  

Hopefully, that day is coming. 

Until then, it’s going to be more Groundhog Days.