Early this morning, around 1:30 a.m., I was awaken by my restless wife. She was on her phone and glaring into the small screen. The eerie light, emanating into the darkness of the bedroom, pierced through my eyes as I attempted to ascertain what time and day it was. Welcome to the land of COVID. Christine couldn’t sleep. She had heart palpitations, and she couldn’t stop ruminating about decisions she’s had to make over the last two weeks. A reassuring glance, a soft touch, and even a few words of encouragement would not dissuade her from the premonitions of a foreboding danger lurking on the horizon. The disease had spread to all six of the counties under her command. Hundreds of employees, thousands of patients and loved ones were now in harms way. Weeks of preparation. Weeks of daily staff meetings, memos, reminders, and careful consideration to assure safety, could not stop the virus from expanding north into our quiet communities and her decks of responsibility. After some fitful sleep, I finally stumbled out of bed and began the day. Christine dozed. The sun slowly revealed itself in a shy glow opposite a western stormfront. Coffee made; today was no day for the usual quiet, reflective meditation, when Christine bounded down the stairs, “I need to go to the office. I need to get things straight.” In my feeble attempts to grasp my old therapy persona out of my pajama pocket, I asked her to stop and take a breath. Take a moment to displace what happened during the night. She smiled through tears, and she looked up into my face. There are things she can’t legally tell me, and I know that. But I wanted to ease her pain. She made toast, grabbed a yogurt, and I poured the remainder of the coffee into her mug. I walked her out to the garage and kissed her goodbye as she entered her car. Off she went. I waved, and wondered. After my own 42 years in healthcare and working through many a crisis, I believe this will be the norm for several weeks. Then the ease of summer and peaks in the curve will bring about some relaxation. But fall and winter loom. If no vaccination or treatment, this may be a repeated scenario. Welcome to the land of COVID.