“Just 2 days before, we were laughing and making plans for summer. He was excited about his stimulus check because he wanted to buy the grandkids something nice, and a portable oxygen machine so he could travel to visit us. It was always his dream to come here and see the ocean for the first time. He spoke of it every day. Now, I had to tell my children their Pap, their best friend, was gone.”
“Don’t talk about health care heroes right now, post a few memes, then in a few more months go back to trashing the profession. Remember who you leaned on in times of crisis. Remember who showed up, even as their colleagues were dying.”
“I wasted most of life achieving nothing. There was no dancing on the bar with cleavage showing and crazy, curly hair. I had to find another way to make myself happy, I had nowhere else to look but within myself.”
“Today I broke quarantine for the first time to go to the ATM. From first glance, I could tell he did not have a home. His clothes were tattered and soaked. This man didn’t want hand sanitizer. He didn’t want toilet paper, gloves, or even a mask. He just wanted food. Something we’ve all stocked up on ourselves. My heart broke for him.”
“I could tell they were having a heated conversation. I took the boys to the backyard and waited. His hands were shaky as he called her mom and said she had to come to pick her up. I was so frustrated. Here he was, telling his daughter she has to go home before she even gets out of the car.”
“Maybe your stepkids are with you right now. Maybe they’re with their mom and she would prefer not to send them back to you. When everything calms down, if you feel you’re entitled to ‘make up time’ or you’ve overpaid child support to help your ex through tough times, you can address it then.”
“I set the girls’ folders next to folders with their friends’ names — friends they haven’t seen in weeks. I finally let some tears fall over the loss of this. For them. For their teachers. For this school I love so much.”
“He snored like a little truck and had horrible sleep. He would always fall asleep in the early afternoons. Till one day I said to a doctor, ‘I’m not leaving here until you give me a referral to see a specialist.’ My gut was right.”
“I am a frontline worker for the hospital. This is how I will see my partner, my daughter, and my two sons for the next few months, through a window for a few minutes a day. This has been the hardest decision I have ever had to make.”
“I felt stupid because no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop. I would spend an hour straightening my shoes, trying to get them ‘just right.’ My dad had to sleep on the floor next to my bed and I had to wear adult diapers. I was left with my self-esteem in shatters. I believed I was a naughty kid.”
