Last week I saw my neighbor outside for the first time in a month when I unconsciously put my arm out to shake his hand.

I hadn’t seen him in awhile and it was second nature. He rebuffed with a fist pump instead.

An honest mistake on my part with the coronavirus going on, but it made me wonder how the simple things in life, just aren’t so simple anymore.

It’s day X of this quarantine for many people in our region and throughout the world, as we navigate the waters of uncertainty moving forward.

Schools are shutdown, businesses are closed, traffic is nonexistent and Joe Exotic is a national treasure.

As a sports writer for the past 20 years of my life going back to my college days, not having any actual sporting events to write about is depriving. My days are spent planting a garden for the first time, cooking and watching Netflix.

Sports has been my mask through hard times, my joy in victorious celebrations and has navigated me through lessons of adversity throughout my career as a fan, coach and writer.

For many, sports has always just been a game. A simplistic distraction from the rigors of work and our real lives, but as all of us who miss them at this point, it shows that sports mean much more than that.

For the casual fan, those few hours a night watching your favorite team, cheering them on, while cursing them at the same time is an emotional release. It’s a bonding experience you have, not only with the brand, but friends, family, co-workers and people you may not know.

While my previous statement correlates more to the realms of professional sports, a lot of the same traits are carried down to the amateur level too, and for everyone in the spring sports world, I feel sorry for them.

March 27 was the first date on this corona roller coaster that was supposed signal the next timeline of sports activity in Pennsylvania among it’s PIAA representatives. Now, Gov. Tom Wold pushed that date back to April 6. A week from now, a new date could be in order and so forth until things get better with the coronavirus or until the risk eventually outweighs the reward and spring sports would be ultimately canceled.

Canceling the spring season is a worst-case scenario for anyone involved, especially for senior athletes who won’t get another chance at lacing up their cleats to represent their high school one last time.

But if this situation can teach us anything, it’s the belief in hope.

I know many of us are worried about our loved ones and staying healthy, which to be clear, is the top priority for everyone in our country and around the world to help fight this virus, but hope is a critical desire in this equation too.

We have to believe that things will get better, because they will. We have to hope that the rate of infection slows down as people adhere to staying at home and avoid social situations.

Our ambitions as Americans instills a prevailing attitude in all endeavors we encounter, so why not here?

As former Whitehall football coach Tony Cocca used to say to me, “The sun will come up tomorrow, and if it doesn’t, we have major problems.”

If there’s anything we can take away from this quarantine, it’s to appreciate life and the people you love the most. Make it an opportunity to work on yourself, so that when life comes back to normal, you’ll be better for it.

I know this is all easier said than done in these difficult times, but we all need some hope in our lives right now.

Just remember to not shake anyone’s hands for awhile.