Rozner: Like always, we will bounce back

We were sitting in the kitchen when the phone rang.

I had just dropped off one of my daughters at kindergarten and the other at preschool.

On the phone was the parent of a preschooler, asking my wife if she was going back to school to get the girls.

When my wife wondered why, her friend asked if we had the TV on. We did not. We turned it on and within a few minutes we saw the second plane hit.

It was Sept. 11, 2001.

We watched in silence over the next 90 minutes as both buildings fell. America was at war - and we were terrified.

What do we do? Do we get the kids at school? Is it safe? Are we safe anywhere? What's the next target?

There's nothing as scary as being afraid for your children, and in the hours and days that followed, we worried about everything, about their safety, about their futures, about whether this country would ever get back to normal.

And it did. Pretty much everything did, eventually. Outside of having to remove most of your clothing at the airport, the new normal was fairly normal in time.

What we're going through now is bad and in the days ahead it will get worse as testing becomes more prevalent and the numbers rise exponentially.

That's inevitable. But it will peak and start to turn in our favor.

For the moment, much of what's occurred seems like a response to panic, but what's the old saying? Today's overreaction looks like tomorrow's under reaction.

The sooner we eschew large gatherings and stop the spread of the coronavirus, the sooner we can turn the tide and start on a path back to normalcy.

Fear is contagious and it spreads like a virus, but speaking only for me, this feels nothing like 9/11, not in terms of the fear or what it means for the future.

There is the unknown, which is similar, but very few of us walk around thinking we're going to get COVID-19, whereas the morning of Sept. 12 left us all wondering if we would ever be safe again.

Look, it's bad. It's especially bad for the elderly, and this is no attempt at minimizing the dangers of this virus to those at serious health risk, or the economic hit so many are going to take in the months ahead.

Being sick is unpleasant regardless of your age or health, or what virus you catch. Anyone who says otherwise hasn't had the flu in the last few years.

I caught something in December and coughed so hard for three weeks I saw stars. Reminded me a lot of the head shots I took when caught with my head down, looking for pucks in my skates at the blueline.

Hey, that's what you get for having your head down.

Right now, make sure your head is up and you're paying attention. That means playing it smart when around others and being patient while this runs its course.

And then, things will get better.

Yes, things will get better and in a few weeks or maybe a month or two, we'll be back to normal.

Right now, there's fear in the air. Sports and schools and conventions have been canceled, the travel industry is getting crushed and the economic impact will reach all of us - some much worse than others.

It's bad. It's all feels bad. But it will all get better.

We'll go back to sporting events and schools and conventions and patronize the small businesses and restaurants and their workers, the ones who will suffer so much hardship.

That's what happened after 9/11, when it took a year to feel comfortable again. It's not going to take that long this time, and being afraid gets you nowhere.

By the way, on Sept. 11 we did not retrieve the children early, and picked them up as we always did after school.

We did not overreact and that should be the policy now. Stay safe and be careful and it won't be long before it all turns around.

Don't overreact - but keep your head up at the blueline.