Your Corona-virus Song of the Day. Seventeen.

Intentionally or not, we spend a good deal of our time and attention on the pandemic: reading articles, examining graphs, analyzing projections. Even when we separate ourselves from our chosen source of information, we can’t keep our minds from wandering back there.

Cabin fever reminds us of why we can’t go out. Going out reminds of what a terribly strange time this is – folks in masks, Sorry We’re Closed signs, and empty parking lots won’t let us forget.

As a result of this increased focus, our minds find new and often unusual angles from which to view this unprecedented situation. We form hypothesis and opinions. We imagine worst- and best-case scenarios. We go off on crazy tangents.

One such thought played around in my head for a while. Initially, I pushed back on the idea, as it seemed a bit of a reach just to come up with a silver lining. But after allowing myself to stew on it for a bit, I decided that it is a valid count-your-blessings bullet point:

The corona-virus is sparing our kids.

Conceding the fact that the virus has indeed infected children and (in extremely rare cases) has been fatal, the fact is – up to this point in time – children between 0 and 12 make up a disproportionately minuscule percentage of corona cases.

As heartbreaking as this whole experience has been, consider how much more so if we were reading, day after day, stories of parents losing a child to the disease.

What a relief it must be for parents of young children to – for now – have this one consolation. Amidst a myriad of hardships, a blessing both odd and great.

It’s a weird thought. I can’t fit it neatly into any of my cubbyholes, but I can’t throw it away, either. It doesn’t really

make me feel better, but it does make me realize that I could feel a lot worse. It isn’t deserving of a celebration, but it is deserving of my appreciation. It even feels odd to write this post.

Odder still to come up with a song about it. But here it is.

“The Kids Are Alright” by The Who from the album My Generation (1966).