I have learned many things about myself during the course of the pandemic. In lieu of gathering in person, Argrett asks him: “What would you like to pass on to me?” His reply: “That you are the keeper of the stories.”, Argrett appreciates his call to take this responsibility seriously. I experienced many firsts, from wearing a mask for more than eight hours at a time to… — 12 agitated weeks into lockdown, and now this. She lived through the worst kind of hell,” she recalls. “I pray on my way to work, I pray on my lunch break, I pray when I’m at the box. Her husband came last with Melon, their golden retriever. “Sooooooooo much,” said my father-in-law. As I write this a week later, it is much quieter here. The judge hoped this harsh sentence would deter others from similar crimes, but it had severe consequences for McFarland’s 4-year-old daughter, Nia Cosby. We’ve been eating well along the way. His wife has autoimmune disease, and as he puts it, “Every day I wake up and wonder, ‘Is this the day that COVID-19 is gonna come home with me?’”, But he also knows that his work is more important than ever, and he thinks about how each package he carries contains something to keep people afloat in some way. Initially, he stayed in a hotel but found it too lonely. It was the first time we had been able to connect in so long,” says Susan. My boyfriend Marcial lives in Boston, and I live in New York City. In 2020, with the onset of COVID-19, McFarland was transferred to home confinement. “You just jumped into her world,” she recalls. Print. Today, marks day 74 of staying at home. Seven short essays about life during the pandemic The Boston Book Festival's At Home community writing project invites area residents to describe their experiences during … “It’s about an epidemic, and the main character was a doctor,” he explains. Until June 30, send your essay (200 words or less) about life during COVID-19 via bostonbookfest.org. Sue did not die of the virus but her parting was hemmed by it: no gatherings to mark the passing of this splendid human being. -At 5:30 we mark one year of battling the coronavirus pandemic. Before getting a job as a mail carrier in Palm Beach, Florida, Evette Jourdain was going through a hard time — she’d lost her father, her brother and then her home. “And he says the way to get through something like this is to be a decent person. On April 23rd, accompanied by his daughter and son-in-law, he set out for Old South Church. Hopefully an August wedding will happen, but unfortunately, I may still be “in” here. With the angst in the air attributable to COVID, I understood the anxiety-provoking nature of feeling as though your 6-foot bubble had burst. Of course, the pandemic doesn’t only reveal our weaknesses and dark sides; it can also show us our strengths. The end of this pandemic is in sight, although … “As we’ve seen this year, you never know when your last [family reunion] could be,” she says. What we’ve learned about working from home 7 months into the pandemic. Tell us about how your life has changed over the course of this past year — … I do this religiously every morning. This time I looked back, when he yelled, in my mother tongue, for me to go back to my country. At first, I thought nothing of it. “We’ve had a relationship over the years, but it’s like pieces of a puzzle that we’re just now putting together. I'm not exaggerating when I say the lessons I've learned thus far have changed my life. You can also explore more StoryCorps stories here. Have you incorporated new practices into your life? When large parts of the world … I went to Boston to stay with Marcial. I enter my apartment and excessively wash my hands and face. But I see so much of me in you. We are among the lucky ones. Finding reliable work helped tremendously, but then came COVID-19. If I’m completely honest, things have changed. “We’re like a lifeline — getting these people their medicines, their supplies.”, A health care provider gains inspiration from a classic novel. Everyone else, including my family, is “out” there. In mid-March, I was furloughed from my temp job, Marcial began working remotely, and New York started shutting down. And maybe, just maybe, we’ve learned something from this moment. I watch new “Killing Eve” episodes, play old Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats songs. In particular, working mothers have faced a greater burden of child care and home schooling than men and have ended up leaving the work force in significantly greater numbers than men. I unlocked the empty church and led the procession into the columbarium. One night, as the Vargases recall in their conversation, a coworker brought them all a home-cooked meal. Our habits are deeply rooted in our upbringing and individual cultures (Filipino immigrant and American-born Chinese, hence the strong rice opinions). What keeps me going is just the fact that I need to keep going.”, Boddie agreed. As if daybreak, or a prayer, could bring peace today. Ron Miller. “My floor was one of the first that was converted to strictly dealing with COVID patients. Since mid-March we are in quarantine “in” our rooms with meals served. In a candid conversation during their first weekend together in 15 years, Nia describes their reunion as “one of the best moments of my life.”, McFarland agrees. Although the structure of her days hasn’t changed, she’s seeing much more fear in those she’s counseling. During the Covid-19 pandemic the importance of technology in our health care system’s capacity to care for people has been essential. Sue”, but what we could manage in the Year of the Virus. The kitchen has been the center of quarantine life —and also quarantine problems. Hopefully June will improve. Locked out of our regular habits and social gatherings, we’ve spent our time in more solitary pursuits. Despite writing about the nuances of trauma and how both little and small events can leave lasting scars, I … If not now, then when will we be together? The doctors had warned that although his father had regained the ability to speak, he could only repeat what was said to him. Up again? On April 27, our older son, an EMT, transported a COVID-19 patient to the ER. Like so many other people, COVID-19 took Jackie Stockton by surprise. After an hour-and-a-half Zoom meeting, I decided to take a long walk to the post office and grab a fresh bouquet of burnt orange ranunculus flowers. Have you learned something about yourself or your community? This simple moment, she says, helped get her through the months of the pandemic, and it will forever be what she remembers most from this time: “As crazy as it sounds, it’s the best date I’ve ever had with you in my life.”. One day, she was at her church in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, celebrating her 90th birthday — and the next thing she knew, she was in the hospital. The battle is far from over, but public health professionals have already learned some valuable lessons about fighting a pandemic. Or into a devastating pandemic. My mornings are filled with reading biblical scripture, meditation, breathing in the scents of a hanging eucalyptus branch in the shower, and making tea before I log into my computer to work. My alarm sounds at 8:15 a.m. I Google Minneapolis and see his name: George Floyd. David led, bearing the urn. “You sat at the bottom of the stairs in a rocking chair, and I was at the top. “I can’t sleep,” I say. You have 2 free article s ... reveals a great deal about what good leadership looks like during this pandemic. With his lab running constant COVID-19 tests, he needed to isolate himself from his wife, Susan Vargas, and their four children. The thing that got me was Chauvin’s sunglasses. My husband just called me to describe today’s hospital visit. Want to record an interview with a loved one — nearby or far away — about their experiences during the pandemic? I feel joy. Amid Pandemic, Here's What Researchers Have Learned About The Economy : Planet Money Since COVID-19 hit our shores, economists have been crunching data to … But she won’t leave me. “Hopefully I made a difference in people’s lives.”, A grandmother takes strength from her ancestors. So here are a few workplace lessons that employees and companies learned during the pandemic in 2020. “There was no dress rehearsal — the numbers started to go up and it was show time.”, So how did they get through? David devised a send-off nevertheless. Our food and shelter are not at risk. We had been doing the long-distance thing pretty successfully until coronavirus hit. It’s 3 a.m. and my dog Rikki just gave me a worried look. She's also the author of the narrative nonfiction book, CHEER! My husband left immediately to be with his 90-year-old mother near New York City and is now preparing for his father’s discharge from the hospital. By being forced to press pause on … Since March 2020, every person on the planet has had their life shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic in some way. Marcial and I have gone from eating out and cooking/grocery shopping. Watch StoryCorps founder Dave Isay’s TED Prize Talk here: Kate Torgovnick May is a journalist and writer based in Los Angeles. How could he tell what I was under my mask? CBS2's Meg Baker has more. Everyone was afraid that productivity would come to a halt if the staff starts working from home and that coordination would go astray. This will never, ever be over.”, As a way to cope, she finds herself thinking of her great-grandmother. “She was an amazing woman, and so was her husband. Out of all the things that I’ve done in my life, you are the absolute one thing that I got right.”, A canceled reunion highlights the power of family stories. Or see anything through the sunglasses he was wearing inside? To mark one year of life during a pandemic, WBEZ wants to hear from you. The last year has been like no other. 'You must go on. Nothing inside. Dow tells his friend he found some inspiration in Albert Camus’s classic novel The Plague. Here are some takeaways: Fighting a pandemic takes a … Our two sons, ages 18 and 22, have a lot of energy. Working as a journalist during the pandemic comes with its challenges. We spoke to people about the lessons they've learned about their friendships during the coronavirus pandemic, after having time to reflect. “When I left, you were driving a Barbie car, and now you’re flexin’ in the Honda Accord,” she says. They just did the things they needed to do. Marcial and I have spent quarantine navigating how to handle the unexpected and how to integrate our lifestyles. I embrace the warm sun beaming on my face. So I ask again, would racism exist if we were blind? Rikki has her own bed. Still night. Being alone during the pandemic is still survivable, but it requires more than an internal “step stool” to fix. We’ve argued over things like the proper way to make rice and what greens to buy for salad. We are opposites in many ways, but we share a love of food. In shock, I just laughed. People like the hairdresser are really missed — with long straight hair and masks, we don’t even recognize ourselves. Next time she will bring a chair so we can have an “in” and “out” conversation all day, or until we run out of words. How careful have you been about entering spaces and navigating the world during the COVID-19 pandemic? On top of the mundane issues, we’ve also dealt with a flooded kitchen (resulting in cockroaches) and a mandoline accident leading to an ER visit. From my window I wave to my son “out” there. During this pandemic, some students have lost family members or friends; others are experiencing economic instability. Trauma can come from anywhere and doesn't have to be a massive event to have affected you. Activities are practically non-existent. Most are working from home (or Montana). As the director of microbiology at a hospital in Rochester, New York, Roberto Vargas’s job is to diagnose infectious disease. Lessons learned. “I’m losing it,” I say. But he persisted, glaring at my face, squinting to see who I was underneath the mask. MORE FOR YOU … Since March 2020, every person on the planet has had their life shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic in some way. I feel at peace. After KPRC 2 asked our Facebook followers what they’ve learned about themselves during the pandemic, most have said from “slowing down in life” to appreciating your friends and family like … He left home to protect my delicate health and became ill with the virus a week later. David drew the urn from its velvet cover, revealing a golden vessel inset with incandescent tiles. Not to an office, but to a senior center near Boston, Massachusetts, where Ceceley Chambers works as an interfaith chaplain providing spiritual counsel to those with memory loss.