Recognizing our heroes

The woman behind the counter was nervous.

It was the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and, like everyone, she was worried about how bad things would get, if someone she loved would get sick, if one of her customers could be carrying the virus.

But while those kinds of anxieties and public health orders kept most people at home, she had to work at the small convenience store halfway up a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

As beautiful as the setting was, she did not want to be there. Not right now. But she needed the job and knew her customers needed her.

One man, who had obviously struggled to don a mask, offered a heartfelt thanks as he rubbed his fingers and palms in hand sanitizer.

He was realizing, and acknowledging, something the store clerk had long known — her work was essential.

Without convenience and grocery store clerks, people would not have easy access to food and necessary supplies.

We finally noticed that in 2020, and the folks who stocked shelves, unpacked produce or stood behind the cash register became everyday heroes.

It's the same with health-care workers. While there has always been an appreciation for their work, this year — as they dealt with COVID clusters and extremely sick patients — doctors, nurses, lab techs, cleaning staff, food service workers and everyone who supports sick people in hospitals or vulnerable people in long-term care, put service before self and risked their own health. That is far more heroic than an athlete paid 70 times more who scores a win with two seconds left on the clock.

This year has been an unimaginable year. On top of the pandemic, people in Atlantic Canadian communities faced a multitude of other challenges, including a tragic mass shooting that began in Portapique, a military helicopter crash that claimed the lives of three Nova Scotians, lives lost in sea disasters in Nova Scotia and P.E.I., and a 90-centimetre snowfall that paralyzed the St. John's metro area and sent many communities into states of emergency.

During each of those incidents and others this year, many people stepped up and helped friends and strangers cope and get through. Heroes, all.

This week, our journalists are telling stories about people in our communities who rose to a challenge they faced over the past 12 months.

To the people profiled and the thousands of others who went over and above in 2020 — including the convenience store clerk referenced earlier — thank you for helping us get through the unexpected and unwanted, the unpleasant and the unforeseen.

While we are all hoping 2021 is less eventful, there is certainly comfort in knowing there are people in our communities who will rise to whatever occasion presents itself.

You're our heroes.