How We See It

“Home is a shelter from storms – all types of storms” -William Bennett

I’m a little late with this blog today because I got upset with my mom for a little excursion she took today to go to Walmart. I guess we all have our priorities! Like many of you, I have been self-quarantining these past couple of weeks. Even as a person who absolutely LOVES her pajamas and prefers a night in with my favorite Netflix show, I find myself going a little stir-crazy. The four walls seem to be getting smaller and smaller and if it weren’t for my days-of-the-week pill box, I wouldn’t know what day it is. My mother lives close to my brother, Kevin, but in an apartment by herself in South Florida. It is hard for her to understand that her life of mahjong and bingo has been put on hold and she is lonely. We are blessed to have modern technology and are able to Facetime, but it is not the same.

Outside of the never-ending political posts (believe me, I have my opinions) and corona-related content, a lot of people have been making an effort to fill social media with positive messages. I read one the other day that has stuck with me all week: “We are not stuck at home, we are safe at home.”

It is so true. We can be upset about the situation and how our lives have been totally thrown into chaos, while also being thankful for what we have; a roof over our heads, food in our fridge and most importantly, good health. Although this all seems surreal, we are gifted a unique opportunity to slow down. When else in our lives will we receive a month of government-mandated mental health days?!

In the face of crisis, people’s true colors come out. On Sunday, I was waiting to get into Trader Joe’s (I am thankful for my grey hair because no one questioned if I was a senior or not!) and we were all in line, six feet apart, waiting for the store to open. As I was making small talk with others in line someone came up, not knowing the line was heading down the sidewalk and just got behind someone. Immediately someone started yelling at her and an argument ensued. The person could have nicely said, “the line is down the sidewalk” but instead, she chose to attack this other person (who might I add was wearing scrubs and seemed like she just came off of a shift). Other people started chiming in and an ugly fight almost broke out in front of the store.

We are all in this together and it is not easy. To be frank, a lot of it really sucks, but all we are asked to do is stay home. That is it. Stay home and wash our hands. We are not being tortured, we are not being starved, all we have to do is shelter in our homes. If not for you, then for the doctors, nurses, and other hospital personnel risking their lives every day just to do their jobs. For all of our elderly, who may not know better than to sneak off to Walmart. Be patient with our teachers who are embarking on a new way of teaching, learning along with the students. Everyone is doing the best that they can.

We are stronger together. Flatten the curve!