Featured Refresh
Text & Image
How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
I’m now in my late 50s. My mother often used to say, “it’s later than you think.“ I never doubted that statement, but living through the pandemic has turned my thoughts to my mortality and to that of my loved ones— and to trying to live each day with an awareness of what matters most to me. I don’t take for granted that I, or anyone I love, has any guarantee of life. At the beginning of the pandemic I was filled with such anxiety that it took me hours to fall asleep at night, I awakened throughout the night, and suffered from insomnia. I have type 1 diabetes, and persons with diabetes are at a greater risk for hospitalization, COVID-19 related complications and death from the virus. I haven’t been to the grocery store or any other nonessential public place in a year. I have only had a few essential medical appointments in person, one medical procedure, and two lab appointments for blood tests. I began to meditate in the spring of 2020 and now meditate at least twice daily; the practice has helped me greatly. I also begin and end most days with a prayer, something I rarely, if ever, did before the pandemic. My husband and I have two daughters in their 20s, each living in urban environments hours away from us. I try hard not to worry too much about their health risks as they navigate work and school, but that has been a challenge.I’m learning to let go of the illusion of control.
February 18, 2021
Text Only
Think about the people closest to you. Tell us about how the coronavirus has affected them, and their life.
I'm a mom of 3, widowed for 11 years. 2020 was the year that my daughter would be entering her second year working in NYC, my middle one was supposed to start and finish HVAC training and be on his way in a career, and my youngest was to have his senior year of high school with all of it's rites and then head off to college, something he is very ready for. My daughter's been with us from NYC in March, where she worked from home. Furloughed, she decided to go to back to grad school. She's leaving in 2.5 weeks. I worry she will get sick 800 miles from home. 2020 was to be the year that my older son started his HVAC career training. He is now supposed to start it in one month. I worry it will get cancelled again. I worry he will get sick at his current food service job (that I've asked him to stop going to) and not be able to start, or infect one of us... and maybe keep his sister and brother from leaving - or worse. I worry he will get sick once he starts his program. 2020 was also supposed to be the year that my youngest launched to college. Right now, he has no idea if he will begin his college work while living in a dorm in Phila or our kitchen table. I worry about him being on his own in the dorm, and getting sick. I worry that if any one of my kids has to go to a hospital, they will be alone. I worry that they will lose me, their only surviving parent. I repeatedly say, if this is all we have to deal with, I'll take it - just inconvenienced and life delayed a bit. I don't see these fears letting up until we are all safely vaccinated. I don't sleep much anymore.
July 14, 2020