COVID-19 - FEAR AND FIGHT

If there was ever a time for all of us to stay positive and strong -- it's now.  We need all of our mental energy to ride this out.  Download your FREE poster on our site today as a reminder!  Staying positive will make all the difference. Turn your FEAR into FIGHT and #Flattenthecurve.

Like all of you, I have immersed myself in online media, television news coverage, news articles. . .I've been learning the facts and following the statistics and projections.  . .I've been scrambling to learn new technologies and apps to get my kids online to engage in virtual soccer practice, school, instrument lessons. . .I've been catching up with friends and family and checking in on neighbors. . I've been making sure the house has its basic necessities -- all while being vigilant on wiping down countertops etc. . .It's the new norm and we are going to have to get used to this for a while.  The notion of how many are sick and dying is disturbing, that the sickness is hitting some of our households and people we know and love and the  possibility that it will do more of that is unnerving and devastating and the uncertainty of how long this will all last is scary and mind-numbing. 

What I keep telling myself:

-- If we self-isolate and flatten the curve, we will be fine.

-- We now seem to be on track for making and acquiring healthcare necessities -- sanitizer, increased/faster testing, face masks, breathing tubes, hospital beds etc. The US government and private sector are spurring production. It will happen!

--On medications, recent reports that some existing meds (for other indications) may be able to help those with severe cases survive.  Phew! They will find something that works!

-- I am with my husband and kids -- we get family time together that we've been craving for years. Dinner together every night -- a pipe dream in the pre-COVID-19 world. (And we get to have breakfast, lunch and snacks together too now!)

-- I finally got my parents up and running with online food deliveries and Amazon Prime!  :-). I've been trying for the last few years without success but finally, they gave in. Now in addition to getting all they need delivered, they get to watch some of my favorite shows and turn off the news to escape reality a bit!!!

 -- I don't need to schlep all around town to get my kids to all their activities -- because the activities now come to us!  How convenient.

-- As soon as I figure out how to program my household devices for all the virtual learning that is and is about to happen (which could take quite some time!), I should have downtime to actually read some books in addition to managing my work.

--I will see my brother and parents and hug them soon. . .My brother is in NYC with his wife who is a medical doctor and working in the trenches and my parents  are living in isolation in Long Island due to their ages, my Dad just turned 87. In the meantime, I will FaceTime them at least 2x per day. . .and give them way too much virtual love and attention.

I am encouraged by reports about foreign nations joining together to share information; researchers all over the globe spending 24/7 to help find solutions, develop medications and vaccines; private sector helping with donations of needed medical equipment and supplies (e.g., just this morning Louis Vuitton announced it converted its perfume factory into a hand sanitizer factory); and healthcare workers working around the clock and putting themselves in jeopardy to help save lives. Our US troops will hopefully get more involved too -- they've already sent a floating hospital ship to NYC and Mayor de Blasio has released the symbolic flare, stressing NYC's -- and the nation's -- need for more military help. 

Our resilience is being tested here like never before in our lifetime.  And it is a real opportunity for our humanity to shine through. . .For example, NYC has committed over 1000 healthcare workers coming out of retirement to assist on the front lines. For those of us who aren't in a position to be on the front lines, we still have our own work to do. We need to be strong -- not only for ourselves -- but for those we love who are in need of positive vibes and real backbone and comfort to get through the next weeks or months.

Thank G-d for modern technology -- imagine living in this COVID-19 world without any virtual comforts and distractions, including much needed communications (incoming and outgoing). . .

So -- reach out to your community, feel connected to those beyond your quarantined quarters and share positive energy.  Some ideas:  Virtual soccer practices start with each member of the team relaying a positive thought for the day (LOVE IT!).  My homeowner's community is hosting a Zoom cocktail party this weekend and hopes to host a Zoom book club too (FUN!). My kids have regular group FaceTime chats with their friends and even play boardgames and card games together (creative virtual playdates!).

Find ways to express gratitude. I sent my family doctor a note thanking him for all he's doing to help patients and run the hospital in this time of distress. 

Incentivize your kids to be productive. Help them make daily schedules. At the end of each day, if my kids accomplish the projects and practices scheduled for that day, they get to choose a family game to play or movie to watch at night. (It is after all still Spring Break!)

Go outside. Take a walk, play with your family in the park, get some fresh air and exercise. 

Take your FEARS and turn it into POSITIVE ENERGY AND FIGHT to get through this. 

In the words of ROSIE (appropriate given our current state of this unique war) --

WE CAN DO THIS! And we will. . .together -- one day at a time.

#flattenthecurve