“Tomorrow is my son’s birthday. I slacked too long and the gifts I ordered won’t arrive in time. I reassure myself by saying, ‘He’s only 4, he won’t be disappointed.’ But in my heart, I’m fuming. Who am I? Just 2 months ago I planned a birthday party extraordinaire for my oldest. This just isn’t like me. Any sort of structure we had is now gone.”
“My heart was failing. I couldn’t even get out of bed. I threw up instantly and then fainted. ‘I can’t be sick forever. I can’t live like this.’ The coordinator came in to tell me there may be a heart for me — her heart. I wasn’t scared. I was ready.”
“I’d just been diagnosed with the flu on March 5th and started to feel better until this hit. I was cleaning the restroom when Dante came in and said, ‘Mom, what are you doing? Get out of the bathroom! You are putting on too much bleach!!! You are going to stop breathing!’”
“If you need help during this time, please call a therapist. You are not bothering us! We want to help you! We have never in our lifetime dealt with the loss of our lives as we have at this moment.”
“It was the 10-year mark of my job and I began to grow restless. I was at the top and there was no position above me to reach. I started thinking of myself as something or someone else. I was tired of holding things up. I wanted what I wanted. I had to be honest.”
“A doctor said, ‘Everyone is going to get this virus before it ends,’ and it terrifies me. I take medication on a daily basis just to breathe normally. My body is weak. I have so much left in life I want to see and do. I’ve been fighting my whole life, and I don’t plan on stopping now.”
“Months ago, a tornado ripped through their home in the middle of one terrifing night. And there they stood. In front of that torn down, knocked apart, and REBUILT beautiful house. Today, I didn’t get to be there as a bridesmaid. My parents didn’t get to be there. They stood tall and fearless, saying their vows and promising forever.”
“In light of this, our family is giving you blanket permission to do this however the hell you want for the next two months. I don’t care if you teach my kids one more thing this semester.”
“May it change the way we look at Easter, forever.”
“Let’s rewind to a few months ago. When we were able to go to the store, but didn’t remove our AirPods. When we forgot to call our family members. When we ordered coffee, but never looked up from our phones to say hi. Now, a virtual conversation on the couch means more than any loud dinner at the latest trendy restaurant where we’d all check our phones anyway.”
