We wish you a blessed and happy Easter

While holidays are largely thought of as an excuse to bring joy into our lives through celebration with family and friends, the holiday we come together to observe this week seems to offer a bit more in the way of hope and promise — especially this year.
There are the obvious religious reasons, of course, as both the Easter and Passover observances held by followers of Christian and Jewish faiths resound with the theme of hope overcoming despair, faith winning out over fear, and the overall promise of a joyous new beginning that allows us to prevail over the sorrow of the past and embrace a better future.
It certainly doesn’t hurt that these faith-based messages of renewal and rebirth are delivered as spring arrives and we emerge from the long, cold winters of northeast Wyoming. No other holiday — even Christmas — offers the seasonal optimism that we experience at this time each year.
It may be that Easter is just a little different because it always seems to come at a perfect time to embrace a spirit of hope and promise and that is a message we can certainly welcome in 2021.
Last week the Wyoming Department of Health revealed that deaths in Wyoming rose by nearly 17% in 2020 as compared to the previous year, and while we begin to celebrate our “return to normalcy” we should pause for a moment to acknowledge the enormity of the impact of the coronavirus on the people of our state.
“Records kept by Vital Statistics Services (VSS), which is part of the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), show a significant increase in 2020 deaths among residents over what would have been expected before the year began, along with fewer recorded births, marriages and divorces,” a press release from the WDH reported. “Among Wyoming residents, there were 5,983 deaths recorded in 2020 compared to 5,121 deaths in 2019 for a year over year difference of 862, according to official death certificate information.”
The release goes on to state that 528 Wyoming deaths were reported as related to COVID-19 in 2020, and the “return to normalcy” we are celebrating this week as vaccinations increase and the presence of coronavirus recedes in our community should make our holiday all the more joyous.
The actual impact of the COVID-19 virus on our state and community can and will be debated at some point, and to honor the loss and sacrifice felt by so many it will be appropriate to hold those discussions in the belief that by learning valuable lessons from the experience we can work together to produce a better future.
But in the spirit of Easter, we ask that our readers set aside those concerns for a moment to also acknowledge that it appears there was a great deal of loss and sacrifice through death in our state that was seemingly unrelated to the coronavirus, and if coronavirus is truly in retreat then these other factors present a far more present and immediate threat to us now and are far more deserving of our attention.
The report from the WDH stated that Wyoming’s aging population has been responsible for steady and small increases in deaths for several years, and it indicated that the top five causes of death in the state in 2020 were heart disease, cancer, COVID-19, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and related conditions and various types of accidents. While the pandemic may have contributed to a decrease in marriages over the course of the year, the number of births continued a “significant downward trend that has existed for several years,” according to the release. There were 6,127 births recorded in Wyoming in 2020, as compared to 6,567 in 2019 and a modern high of 7,716 in 2015.
It is certainly no surprise that 2020 produced higher instances of bad news — particularly death — and a dearth of good news like marriages and births. Given our state’s aging demographic there may be little we can (or should) do to address those numbers.
But there is danger in ignoring the existence of these realities, and the toll loss takes on us as individuals should not be lost on us collectively — especially in the wake of a year like 2020 — because a collective response and commitment to lifting each other up is necessary after a period of great loss.
The fact that the number of suicides and deaths through overdose in Wyoming also increased in 2020 is further proof that despair and sorrow can spread and become more powerful if it isn’t countered with hope and joy, but we didn’t share these statistics to make readers afraid, and we definitely aren’t asking government to “do something about it.”
We share the bad news now because it is in our nature to view our challenges with optimism and compassion and love at Easter, and we believe there is no better time to turn ‘the bad’ into something good.
We share the statistics that tell the story of our past with you now because we truly believe that hope springs eternal and faith overcomes fear, and the power to make a brighter and happier future for community lies within all of us — the survivors
of 2020.
So embrace life and by all means embrace your loved ones this Easter. The fact that you are here to do so is more than enough cause to celebrate. Don’t fail to appreciate what you have been through and share joy with those you love after overcoming the challenges you faced in the past year because it is the final step in truly declaring victory over 2020.
We wish you a blessed and happy Easter, and look forward to springing into a better 2021 with you!