You want resilience? Here you go

Once in a while, most of us need a reminder not to take things for granted.

Thanks, COVID-19.

Before you arrived, damn your virus-infested soul, we could stop by our favorite coffee place even late at night and know the lights would be on and a hot cuppa would be waiting.

We weren’t restricted to the drive-through line at Panera at lunchtime on a Sunday.

We didn’t have to absorb the shock of seeing entire sections of everyday products completely absent from local grocery store shelves, forcing us to make another stop and finding the same blank shelves staring haughtily back at us.

Before you, COVID, whatever we wanted, we pretty much got whenever we wanted it.

That’s us, the consumers. But for the business owners? They’ll see our headaches, and raise us 5,000 more.

This issue of The Business Journal of North Idaho reflects some of the cons of an extended pandemic season, but also the pros that are rising above it. Take the cover story, for instance.

Who knew that when local restaurant lovers no longer wanted to risk eating amidst maskless crowds, to-go orders would save the day? We know several restaurants that have kept their dining rooms closed for months and are doing just fine, thank you and come again.

Making the best of this global mess are people nurturing life while humans die. The houseplant phenomenon goes well beyond the simple pleasure of growing things. In some cases, it might be preserving sanity as well as a growing industry.

COVID likely funneled a bigger stream of home buyers to less-restricted North Idaho, and maybe it will also ensure winter doesn’t completely freeze the local real estate market.

So on further review, should we give thanks to the pandemic? Heck, no! But here in North Idaho, it’s clear that creativity, resilience and perseverance are three of our finer attributes.

— Mike Patrick, BJNI editor