Words of the Year in the Time of COVID -19.

This is the year we acquired a new vocabulary. The lexicon of infection control that became common parlance gave us a way of describing what felt for many, an out-of-control time. The pandemic also inspired many forms of creative expression as offerings of thoughtful reflection and which manifested the best of the human spirit.  A most interesting project came from a group of quilters who undertook a challenge to quilt COVID related themes in a lighter look at an extraordinary time.

My good friend Jane is a member of this quilting group and she decided to quilt a crossword puzzle featuring many of the words we heard this year and perhaps don’t want to hear so much again. I was intrigued by this idea, so for something a little different, I have printed her crossword puzzle. It is not possible to insert the letters on this image but hopefully it will be fun to figure out the words from the clues. Answers are at the end.

Across

1.Spreads from person to person
3. _______immunity
6. Liquid hand _______
8. COVID is a respiratory__________
10. Protects against disease
13. Fever is a common__________
14. New or ______virus
15. 14 days of __________
16. With 23D popular hobby
18. Social distance (2 words)
20. Binge watching app
21. _________your hands frequently
22. Avoid large ___________
24.Symptom: lose your sense of _______
25. With 24D process to track spread

Down

1.____19
2. Result of panic buying
4. Flatten the __________
5. Mandatory accessory you must wear
7. Popular communication app
9. Stay________ home if you are feeling sick
11. With 25A process to track spread
12. Result of nasal swab
17. Couldn’t buy ________ paper
23. With 16, a popular hobby

There are many words that will mark 2020 forever. Words reflect our perception of reality, but they also have the power to shape it. Some have cast a shadow, and some have illuminated our lives in ways we could not imagine. We need to hold both in our hands as we live through this time.

Words matter. We are not out of the dark yet with COVID-19 but there is light ahead with the vaccine available.  The words we use now will influence life going forward.  What will be your words of the year in 2021?

I would like to offer these words to consider with the hope that they will be used often by many, inspiring us all to engage in random acts of kindness. I’m sure you can think of more. All embody an aspect of love in the time of COVID 19.

Joy, compassion, kindness, joy, laughter, resilience, generosity, family, friends, health, gratitude, forbearance, fun, patience, courage, beauty, courage, help, buy local, simplicity, community, goodwill, support, volunteer, give and receive, hope; and that great word LOVE.

Take care!

Answers (in alphabetical order)
contact; contagious; COVID; crowds; curve; diagnosis; front; herd; home; jig; mask; netflix; novel; quarantine; sanitizer; saw; shortages; six feet; symptom; taste; toilet; tracing; vaccine; virus; wash; zoom

Thanks to my good friend Jane, creative spirit and superstar quilter for giving permission to print her crossword.