The last several, isolating weeks have felt like an eternity, yes?
I know many of you are struggling. You are navigating the front lines as nurses and physicians, grocery clerks and pharmacists, risking your own health and wellbeing to take care of or provide necessities to others.
You are working from home—with no assistance—while keeping your children actively learning (or, on some days, just surviving until nightfall).
You’re grieving loved ones that you aren’t able to spend last moments with or say good-bye to through a proper burial.
You don’t know how you’ll afford to pay next month’s rent or whether your business will survive through the summer.
You are truly alone—living in a city under lockdown away from your family and significant others because it’s the safer and more responsible thing to do.
Life is unbearably difficult and uncertain for so many people, and I wish I had the ability to comfort and support us all.
In this strange, new reality we each are living, I want to remind you that—no matter which emotions or uncertainties ruminate through your mind right now—it’s OK to feel that way.
Yes, there are needs and losses greater than our own—and we should always be mindful of and compassionate toward others—but that doesn’t invalidate our own disappointments and pain. There’s room for gratitude and grief to coexist—and neither feeling is more acceptable than the other.
So remember…
It’s ok if you don’t know how to adequately explain to your children why they can’t see their friends or go to the park right now
It’s ok that you’re angry about canceling your baby shower/birthday party/commencement ceremony because those are important milestones in life that you don’t always get to repeat
It’s ok to turn off the news for a while because information overload is causing you more anxiety than not knowing
It’s ok if your housekeeping putters to a halt because telecommuting and “homeschooling” dry up every droplet of your energy reserves
It’s ok to laugh uncontrollably one minute and cry in the shower the next
It’s ok if you fall into a negative headspace because access to your social network and safety nets have been torn from your grasp (just remember that tomorrow is a new day to start fresh or seek help)
It’s ok to eat junk food in front of the television or have ice cream for dinner
It’s ok if you’re unable to focus on tasks for long periods of time before ruminations of death tolls and business closures and shortages of supplies begin dancing in your head
It’s ok to be angry that you still have to go to work, even though you’re keenly aware of how fortunate you are to have steady employment
It’s ok to be goofy—even in inappropriate times
All of this is ok. All of this is human. And all of this is a byproduct of living, feeling, and operating within a structure and environment we’ve only read about in science fiction and dystopian novels.
None of us have experienced a global pandemic before.
We are writing the rules one by one as each day succumbs to night.
Allow yourself to feel. Apologize when warranted. Laugh when the urge presents itself. Cry when the tension becomes too great. Practice social distancing and responsible behaviors when you do have to go out.
And remain hopeful for tomorrow, because it’s going to be ok.
Cathi says
Very good read. We are all in this together. We must realize that we all need each other to survive this. Let us love one another and forgive one another when we fail..
Catherine says
Thank you.😊 We will all get through this.
Jackie says
Well Said!
Catherine says
Thank you, Jackie. And thanks for reading ❤️
Uncle Wayne says
Wise beyond your years!
Catherine says
Thank you, Uncle Wayne. Now to just keep reminding myself when I get overwhelmed.
We are thinking of you both.