Dear Editor,

As a former public health nurse, county commissioner, and state senator I am painfully aware of the seriousness of this pandemic. The impact on our health, lifestyle, and financial wellbeing is devastating. And yet we will get through this.

This will be a long haul. No one should expect COVID 19 to magically disappear. The virus will cause havoc for at least another 15 months. Fortunately, there will be an end when we achieve herd immunity through enough people acquiring the infection and recovering and through a mass immunization program. Our financial comeback will take even longer but we will recover financially as well as physically.

The good news is that mountain people are really good at adapting. In Gilpin County for example, when we had to close our high school and bus our kids to nearby school districts, we built a preschool through high school to keep our kids in the community. With the advent of gaming, we lost most of the child care homes because the women went to work in the casinos for better pay and benefits. So, we built Eagles Nest, our Early Learning Center. When the pine beetles infected our beautiful forest, we created a place to take our slash and built a road and bridge building heated with wood chips. We will adapt to this current crisis and create an even better community for the future. That’s what we have always done!

For the moment we need to ensure physical distancing, but not social distancing. We need to invite our neighbors over for coffee with adapted protocol. We can enjoy coffee from our own thermoses on our porches and decks sitting 6 feet away from our neighbor. We need to take items to the food bank to help our neighbors. We need to get outside and enjoy the fabulous beauty of our own county. 

On a personal level the toughest part for me has been not having my granddaughters spend the night with us and getting up the next morning to fix pancakes together in my kitchen. So, I called Audrey and Hazel and suggested they convince their parents to camp on our property. In the morning, Audrey and Hazel can quietly sneak out of the tent and knock on my bedroom window to let me know it is time for breakfast. I’ll fix breakfast and we can have breakfast 6 feet apart on my porch where we will be safe. Audrey thought about the idea then asked me if I had Frosted Flakes. Fortunately, I have a big box! Hazel said, “that sounds like fun!” So, it’s a date! We are learning to adapt to this crisis. 

Senator Jeanne Nicholson
Peak to Peak