“I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know when our lives will get back to normal. I don’t know what our next school year will look like and when I will get to see you again. But what I do know is you are worth facing any challenge.”
‘I didn’t get to say goodbye. We had 127 days together, but they just weren’t enough.’: Teacher encourages students, ‘I am still your teacher, always here to support you’
‘I walked right into CVS with my mouth completely uncovered. I forgot to pull the cotton over my nose!’: Woman urges ‘be gentle, there is no right or wrong response’ during pandemic
“Panic and discomfort took over. ‘What are people thinking of me? OMG, are they going to kick me out? Arrest me?’ This new normal doesn’t feel normal at all.”
‘Forgotten lunch boxes and sweatshirts remain. Untold stories, empty playgrounds. The desks are still full, but empty of the one thing that made them come alive each day.’: Mom says return to school will be ‘a day of celebration’
“The artwork on the walls is full of shamrocks and gold, rainbows, and leprechauns. Spring was right within their grasp. They said, ‘I’ll see you in a little while.’ A little while has gone on longer than anyone imagined it would, but in that classroom, time stands still.”
‘The wedding was canceled. He was on the couch, moping. ‘Have you planned anything special for the day?’: Couple surprised after canceled wedding, ‘We will forever remember this as the day they got hitched!’
“He said, ‘A bunch of random a-holes are honking their horns in the parking lot.’ I shrugged, ‘Maybe you should go check it out.’ As he stepped out, he began to cry.”
‘He hugged me tightly. ‘Mommy, I’m so happy. I hope school never opens. I don’t want to see my bully ever again.’: Mom says ‘let us return to school next year changed and kinder’
“We’d been dealing with his bully on and off for 2 months to no avail. My eyes filled with tears. He hugged me even tighter. ‘I don’t want to see my bully ever again. I love being safe at home with you.’”
‘We received our test results: positive. I’d done so much to avoid being infected. But there I was, staring at the inevitable rear its ugly head.’: Family recovering from COVID-19 urges ‘love hard, tomorrow is not promised’
“What we experienced is considered ‘mild.’ But believe me, by no means necessary, did it feel anything near mild. I prayed my kids would not get sick. One by one, they each started to have a low-grade fever.”
‘They tell me, ‘Go back to your country.’ Many of my patients ask to switch nurses. I’m not Chinese, and I was born and raised in America.’: Nurse vows to continue to fight ‘despite obstacles’
“I head into the shower and visciously scrub my skin until my eczema flares up to match the raw, peeling skin behind my ears from wearing masks all day. I sleep alone, without my special someone. I park my car in crevices to power nap on a makeshift foam mattress in the back of my trunk after a 12-hour shift to head right into another 8-hour shift. I will continue to fight, no matter the obstacles.”
‘If I’m forced to self-isolate a majority of the time, you can for a few months!’: Young woman with chronic illness begs for social distancing, ‘Maybe we will become better humans when it’s over’
“To those saying, ‘it’s just a virus,’ you may be able to fight it off with no issues if you were to contract it. But guess what? It’s not just about you! It’s about everyone.”
‘I get to the door and there is my eldest son, arms crossed, blocking entry. ‘Mask, Mom!’ I am high risk, and one blessed mama.’: High-risk woman battling myasthenia gravis urges ‘this is not just a little sickness bug’
“Ricky taps my hand if I try to touch something. THEN, this child pulls out the sanitizer and sprays my hands with it. He waits until I rub it in correctly and looks at me through the corner of his eye to make sure I don’t touch anything again. Ricky knows I am one of the ones who would most certainly die. He has been in the hospital with me more times than I can count.”
‘They should have been stocking up on diapers and miniature clothing, not toilet paper and hand sanitizer.’: Woman reminds us ‘don’t forget to check on your pregnant friends, they’re hurting’
“They should have been worrying about morning sickness, which crib to buy, and what to name their precious little. These amazing women thought they would be carrying life, but instead they’re also carrying dread, anxiety, and fear. I cannot imagine a scarier time to prepare to be pregnant.”
