Physically distanced, socially connected

“SOCIAL distancing” was the term introduced to describe our efforts to flatten the curve of coronavirus infection by decreasing community transmission. But as our colleague Andy Walter, urogynecology, points out, words matter and we need to replace that misnomer with PHYSICAL distancing. A more accurate description of the current situation is that while maintaining a radius of safety to protect our permeable mucous membranes from the spray of coughs and sneezes, our strong drive to be social and in community with others is irrepressible and has found new ways to express itself. Andy reports that in his neighborhood, he has never seen so many people out walking and biking together (while maintaining a safe distance) and his dog is now getting walked 4x/day (more than ever before). Meanwhile, last Saturday in the hamlet of Davis, my family rode our bikes on the arboretum loop for the first time in 24 years of living there. Then on Sunday, after observing worship services online, we biked to church to deposit our offering in the dropbox. Motivated by your craving for connection, many of you are similarly shaking things up by participating in online fitness classes and staying in touch with friends and family members via phone calls, group texts (filled with rich emojis), and AV apps such as Zoom, Facetime, Google Hangouts, and GoToMeeting. The bottom line is this: physical separation sucks but we are a resilient species. At some point in the future, the restrictions will ease up and we can re-embrace with newfound appreciation the proms, graduations, weddings, funerals, sporting events, and dinner gatherings that bring us together as families, friends, and a society. Until then, keep on breathing, adapting, and investing in creative and innovative ways to stay connected.