Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the more recent social unrest, my story feels like a confusing mixture of worry, joy, sadness, fear, and gratitude. Life certainly looks different than it used to. I do not see my co-workers anymore as we are working virtually, my immediate family and I are still practicing social distancing from everyone, grocery shopping is an epic event in which I look like a steam-punk alien, and each day seems to bring new headlines to discuss and worry about. And yet… I wake up early each morning to work in our garden. The birds are singing right now. The honey bees are still hard at work gathering food and pollinating along the way. There is a sweetness to our isolation: more time with my husband and son, more projects accomplished, and the most impressive garden we have ever planted.
Juxtaposed against what feels ok right now is a sense of looming threat. How long will it be before we feel comfortable traveling to visit loved ones who are far away? When will COVID-19 reach my inner circle, and what will that look like? It is painful and confusing to watch the social unrest, loss of lives, and the sense of our society fracturing currently playing out in the news. It feels unreal to be personally living in a place of safety and peace while witnessing the exact opposite through screens. I am working to name my white privilege, and to be an ally who takes action in the ways that I can. I am calling my family, writing letters, and connecting through Marco Polo. And every day I have to get outside-to move, to garden, and to breathe in what is still ok. These things are keeping me anchored, so far.

– Anonymously submitted on June 3, 2020