“A parent messaged me, ‘We were having a rough morning, and I insisted we all watch your circle time. It calmed us all down. Thank goodness for you!’ Each morning, I get up and gift my students a safe space, and they gift me back my world.”
‘Our preschool abruptly closed. ‘I’ll see you every morning, right here.’ I had to regain my focus, if only for 30 minutes a day.’: Preschool teacher creates virtual safe space for students, ‘Whatever your gift is, beautify the world with it’
‘We all see you ‘weak links’ and are judging accordingly. And we won’t forget.’: Woman with underlying health conditions urges ‘be the hero in this nightmare and stay home’
“I have a higher risk of not surviving COVID-19. I know, staying home all day is hard. Be gentle to yourself. When we get out of this we won’t be asking each other, ‘How many pages did you finish in your novel?’ We will be celebrating for JUST GETTING THROUGH IT.”
‘He sent me a message apologizing. ‘I have potentially exposed us all.’ They had one kiss as a couple before entering weeks of not seeing each other.’: Mom says ‘if two 19-year-olds can love in the time of coronavirus, so can we’
“He heard from his workplace that a co-worker tested positive for COVID-19. They’re writing each other letters, leaving sanitized little gifts, and cooking together over FaceTime. This week, he left a video game in our mailbox with a love note: ‘I wore a mask and gloves to sanitize this for you. Wash your hands and don’t touch your face. I love you.’”
‘To the nurse who tested positive for COVID-19. To the nurse who can no longer breathe. My name is Aída. I am an ER nurse. I feel you. I share your pain.’: Nurse says ‘I WILL show up for YOU’
“To the nurse who woke up to a text message that another one of their coworkers has died. Every day, we write our names and the date on our face masks and eye shields. Every day, we show up stronger, more capable, and braver than the day before. Not just for our patients, but for one another.”
‘I have this intense feeling we needed to go to the shelter today.’ Ruby has done more than be my best friend. She saved my life.’: Woman praises rescue dog, ‘They’re miracles from God’
“Within 2 weeks, she passed away in my arms. Even though I know my sweet Peanut girl got her wings that day, I was completely devastated. There are some pain days I want to kiss this little slice of earth behind, but I just can’t.”
‘Someone commented, ‘I didn’t know her, but this girl captivated me!’ I can’t help but miss her more. I’m her mom. I know how awesome she is.’: After losing daughter to flu mom says ‘8 years wasn’t nearly long enough’
“I would post our family pictures online as a record of our wonderful life. I can’t help but think she was only with us on borrowed time. If I’d known this, I would have had her sooner so I could have loved her and experienced Kinsley longer. 8 years wasn’t nearly long enough.”
‘Dear big kids, having this unexpected time with you is a gift. But I wish you didn’t have to be here.’: Mom says ‘life threw us a curve ball, but watching you play on is one of the honors of my life’
“A much as I love having you on my couch and at my table—I don’t love how hard it is for you to be those places when you expected to be somewhere else right now.”
‘They just want to make it home to their loved ones. They’re working soul-crushing shifts. Who will help THEM?: Woman pens ode to Covid-19 war heroes, ‘We see you, and we salute you’
“They run towards the danger, as everyone else runs the other way. They’ve made choices that will follow them for the rest of their lives. They’ve been the last face many have seen as they drew their last breath, those images seared in their minds for all time.”
‘I’ve seen too many of my peers crying in the aisles lately. Sometimes I ugly cry outside. But never inside. I know I’m not alone.’: Grocery store worker fears taking Covid-19 home to family, ‘What if I today is the day?’
“I work for my town’s local grocery store. I have 3 children confined at home. Daily, I see fear on the faces down every aisle. I see huge, barren holes on shelves from panic. It never seems like enough. I know I’m not alone.”
‘I cried, ‘Make it stop! I can’t take it any longer!’ I downed laxatives to ’empty out’ whatever I’d let inside my body.’: Woman battling anorexia survives laxative suicide attempt, ‘EVERY one of us need to reach the end, even if we can’t always see that’
“I went downstairs to get the laundry and crumpled down on the bottom step. That’s when I felt the shooting pain of the latest round of laxatives attempting to kick in. I dropped the basket and crawled on my hands and knees. I could feel my stomach contracting fiercely. I didn’t even have the strength to hold a phone to my ear.”