“I woke up completely drenched in sweat. I called the COVID-19 hotline. 5 minutes later, a very condescending man came on. I was told I sounded ‘fine’ and was likely just ‘exaggerating’ the symptoms due to anxiety. I had a seizure. Blood had started pouring out of my mouth. I wouldn’t realize just how much until later.”
“I became a nurse because of my mama. ‘We’re staying home for people like Nana because these germs would make her very, very sick.’ I played a tiny role in some of the very best and very worst days of people’s lives, while I quietly and achingly watched my own mama fight and fight.”
“A short time later, she came to my house with a shopping bag. From 6 feet away, she placed a bag of groceries and masks on the ground. I was an emotional wreck.”
“I cried over chicken today. Then the dreaded texts started coming. We planned on times when we could all talk. I tried really hard to come up with excuses to keep me off the call. I wanted nothing to do with it. The call lasted 4 freaking hours!”
“We know that some of you missed your graduation because you were being shipped off to Vietnam. We know it because you continue to tell us. And we thank you for your sacrifice, but it’s not a contest.”
“I worried about his aggressive outbursts. Earlier that day, I was talking with a friend who was working through her anxiety about leaving her family every shift to work in the NICU. Her anxiety was real. Mine was selfish and unplaced. I was disappointed in myself that I wasn’t able to handle things better for Jack that day, or with my spouse.”
“Like everyone else I know, I’ve been practicing social distancing for 3 weeks now. But just over a week ago, I found myself in the Emergency Room. The one place that would put me most at risk of exposure. I’d been avoiding the grocery store, let alone an ER.”
“We’ll miss staying in our PJs, playing old-fashioned games, enjoying dance parties, and baking 5 batches of cookies. When the house is empty one day, I know I’ll give anything to go back to the days when your fingerprints were all over the front glass door, the floors were sticky, and your presence was right within my reach.”
“Just the other day, I found myself admitting to another mom I’m not sure we would have chosen to have more kids had we known of the diagnosis before getting pregnant. The second the words came out of my mouth, I regretted it. He is showing her his love by letting her in his bubble, despite how painful it is for him.”
“My husband works long hours at our local hospital. I haven’t seen another human being besides my stir-crazy toddlers in a long time. Before I knew it, I had comfort food, a bottle of wine, and two very missed faces on my lawn. They only stayed a few minutes and well over 6 feet away, but those few minutes gave me what I desperately needed to continue moving forward.”
