I Can’t Think of a Good Title
We're in scary times, and we all live different lives in different communities, affected in different ways by what is going on across the globe. I know many of us are affected financially by this, and I want to be sensitive to this fact. I know many are isolated and alone. Several are “at risk” due to one of many factors or have loved ones who are. Many can't stay at home, they have to work. Some of you have reached out letting me know that you or loved ones have it now. My heart goes out to all of you, and I want to be as sensitive as possible.
That being said, I also want to be a distraction. I am not a health expert, there is no point in me sharing advice when you have an entire internet where you can find far more accurate information from experts and those who have spent their life researching this topic. There is nothing I can share that hasn't already been shared so my goal is not to be a resource, but a distraction. Because we all need a break from the news cycle.
While I will be adding content that will be relevant to what is going on now in the world, I also plan to share “typical” content. I have some sponsored posts I'll be sharing that have been months in the works, but also fun things I've researched and written, and content that may not be useful to you now, but I hope will prove useful in a few weeks. I plan to share more day to day stuff on Instagram Stories: what I wear each day when working from home, at-home workouts, those sorts of things.
When under stress, it's normal to lash out. I encourage all to slow down and count to ten before criticizing others for how they are handling this. Some don't speak of it because it's weighing on them 24/7 and they need a distraction. Some don't speak of it because they know they aren't an expert. And some don't because they just don't know what to say. We're all learning as we go along, and the best way to learn is from kind yet constructive feedback and facts.
Friday, while our daughter was at school for the last day for at least two weeks, my husband and I sanitized and organized. It was a good distraction when I was overwhelmed by work-related projects and deliverables, I felt more productive than scrolling through Twitter. When our daughter came home, we had her shower and clean up, did her laundry including her backpack, and I powered off so we could talk about what is going on and how together as a family we will get through it. She could tell I was off and typical to many kids, took is personally and reacted by being extra clingy, extra chatty, extra attention-seeking. And I gave it to her, but by 9pm I was completely done. I left her room and went to mine and cried, but that short super quiet cry many of us perfect when living with others you don't want to freak out. I took extra care with my nighttime skincare routine, knowing that it was something I could do to make myself feel a little bit better and got into bed with my Kindle and a sparkling water. All the books I had were too heavy, so I downloaded The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, a book I remembered offhand was recommended by friends and on the Bad on Paper podcast. It calmed me, distracted me, and I was able to sleep through most of the night.
I already work from home, as does my husband so our day-to-day isn't radically different… yet. I can FaceTime my family, text with friends, and I work in a profession where so much of my social life is already virtual. I do worry about money, when you all are concerned about money it affects the blog. And that makes me feel guilty. I'm going to be working on finding a balance with the content. I do not want you to feel like this site is one big superficial shill, and I worry about looking hella privileged and clueless dancing around in dresses while so many of us wonder how we're going to get through the next week. But I know most of you see Wardrobe Oxygen not just as a shopping blog, but a lifestyle blog, a form of entertainment or at least distraction. And I create content not just for today but for the long run, and I do believe things will improve.
I feel really weird as I scroll through Facebook and between statuses from friends and families on how they are holding up I see ads for crap we don't need but is targeted to those of us feeling scared, alone, and prone to retail therapy. And updates from the Facebook groups I am in for bloggers, business owners, and influencers offering tips on how to write content that will encourage clicks. This is a business, I want it to be successful, but I don't want to be part of the problem. This weighs on me all the time, but even more so right now. I keep reminding myself at past Corporate America jobs I'd be thinking the same thing; what I am working on is so pointless in light of what is going on in the world. But now, having this as my job, I can decide how to react, and I can connect with others instead of just grinding away in a cubicle to pad the pockets of some man in another city in another state who wouldn't know who I am if I passed him on the street. I have the constant challenge to figure out how to do well while also doing good, and I can't think of a better challenge to work on.
I didn't do a February month in review post because this whole month has been really off. But I did make monthly donations. A portion of what I made in February went to Feeding America, Food & Friends, and Moveable Feast. As I learn, I will share ways that you can support small and local businesses to help others affected by this national emergency.
I know this post is all over the place, but my mind is all over the place. I am processing what is going on… sometimes. And sometimes I just freak out. And sometimes I just go numb and want to rewatch all the previous seasons of The Bold Type and eat potato chips. I wish I had a punching bag in my house because crunches and push-ups on my living room floor aren't stopping my desire to punch and hit and scream. I want to sleep all the time, but then I have insomnia. My hands are chapped, I bought nail brushes for all the sinks and showers in our home and will be taking off my pretty nails once they grow out and do my damndest to not chew what is underneath. I wonder if I have enough in my pantry, I worry about my neighbors. I worry about all of you. I scroll through my comments and wonder if names I see on the regular are okay; I may not know you but I do feel I “know” you, especially those of you who comment here, reply to Instagram Stories, and participate in the Facebook Group. I open social media and I'll see one great thing and then three things that just make me angry. I see a DM and it's someone else who is also angry. I watch the news, I shut it off because I am overwhelmed and angry and can't do anything about it. I scroll through Twitter and everyone is so angry because they can't do anything but type and hide out. I'm torn between shutting it all off and gobbling up every factoid I can thinking somehow it will provide me and my loved ones some sort of immunity. I am not perfect, I am going to say or write or do something that will piss someone off, and right now we're all so on edge I can't take always take it personally. I'm going to do my best, which is all we can do right now. That, and wash our hands.
Did you like what you just read?
Consider tapping here to buy me a coffee in thanks. The best gift you can give a content creator is the gift of sharing. Consider sharing this article on Facebook or Pinterest. Thank you so much for your support!
Hello lovely Alison, from locked down Spain, and thank you for your usual intelligent reaction to this extraordinary situation.
You have expressed the same mix of feelings that a lot of us are going through: please accept some socially-distant but still warm virtual hugs (sending some extra for anyone reading this who is feeling anxious).
The sense of community here in our 3,000 year old city is always good, but has been ratcheted up several notches to absolutely amazing, and there is a definite undercurrent that this is how it should always be: everyone looking out for eveyone else, and that we need to keep at it after the storm has passed. I do feel – or maybe hope- that there will be lasting worldwide societal changes after we have weathered this Don’t want to get too political, but if it’s only those with money realising they NEED those poorly paid nurses, teachers, etc. that could only be good! I work in tourism and in just 10 days any hope of any income for months to come evaporated, so no online shopping for me, sadly. Time to revisit wardrobe organising posts!
Sending optimism and sunshine from Andalucía.
This kind of post is what I love about this blog. Thank you for your honesty about how hard this all is. Your approach sounds just right…reading about suits would be pointless now but maybe topics like home hair dye (we may not be able to go to hairdresser for a while), good exercise programs online, cozy clothes for home, how to mend or re-use or rework your existing clothes, how to make your home a sanctuary, and how to handle kids at home could all be useful. I like the hand lotion review idea too! I hope that this crisis does not derail your blog too much, I know you had big projects and exciting things planned and I hope that they still bring some benefit for you and your family.
Hi Alison,
Thank you for your candid and heartfelt post. I too am balancing work and family obligations while battling insomnia and worry. Please keep the blogging. During times of stress I am soothed routine and continuity. Anything you choose to post on blog will provide that continuity to the Wardrobe Oxygen Community.
This is so spot on. I love your honesty and relate completely to your emotional state. I too seem to alternate insomnia with wanting to just sleep and sleep. Trying my best not to eat everything in my pantry (especially the carbs). What a crazy time. Thanks so much for this!
Hmm it’s really interesting to read this written from a westerner’s perspective, since we’ve been working from home since January due to the Coronavirus. Watching how people are scrambling over there now reminds me how it first was over here. I’m familiar with the cycle of anger, guilt, shame & anxiety all too well – even moreso during the protests, where going to work itself was dangerous because I work at a university campus. It felt almost apocalyptic – seeing students in gas masks, propaganda posters & graffiti everywhere, security checkpoints throughout (OK that may not see as foreign to some Americans who go to inner city schools lol, but for us it sure was!) The virus has just added to that – empty streets & whatnot. Anyway, my point is this:
Having gone through this earlier than the states, I don’t have a solution but I do agree & want to stress that this is a COLLECTIVE issue – we are more likely to beat this quickly if we do actions that don’t just benefit ourselves but also those around us. I know during this time we’re very preoccupied with our own (& our family’s) safety, but I’ve heard many people refuse to wear a mask because they aren’t infected – the idea that you would wear one for OTHER people’s benefit seems to be alien, but they don’t get that if THEY’RE thinking that way then so are OTHER people. Including people who think they aren’t affected yet but actually are! I think part of why Hong Kong has done so well with the virus (despite our close proximity to mainland China) is because people have really taken this key tenant aboard & adhere to it as best they can. When it first broke out, I got relatives in other countries to ship supplies to us – it’s better you (general you) do this earlier rather than later, so that you can at least stockpile something. On the other hand, I’ve come out the other end of this & I can say that the scarcity & rationing does get better as the weeks go on & people realise that simply hoarding masks won’t solve the issue. But stock up on essentials whilst you can.
On a lighter note, my online shopping habits have gone through the roof with the recent situation – a welcome distraction, but also a (thankfully) planned one. I wanted to take advantage of the new year sales (my birthday wasn’t long ago), so in a way I’m glad I’ve been able to be home to collect deliveries & try them on at home. Clearing out my wardrobe has been therapeutic – I’m sure once the summer rolls around it will be like emerging from my cocoon as a newly clothed person, lol!
Stay safe, everyone. Hopefully we can collectively learn from our past mistakes to beat this together.
Thank you Alison. Your blog is a wonderful distraction during these unique times and I wholeheartedly endorse your commitment to lean into that. Thank you!
Thank you for all that you shared in this post. As always, you are taking a conscientious and rational approach to things, while sharing your empathetic heart. I so appreciate your voice in all of this, Alison.
And on a side note, I did watch an entire season of The Bold Type and eat potato chips this weekend. 🙂
Thank you! Reading through these comments makes me grateful for the online world of love and support that can be created. I have a space to visit here – just what we all need. Keep posting and we will keep reading!! XO
Enjoyed the post and each one of the heart-felt comments. Let’s all be calm and do what we can to help curb the spread of the virus. Let’s all do what we can to encourage each other as well.
You have a lot of fabulous readers, Alison!
i’m mad…mad that in the richest country in the world, many many students will have limited food and no educuation for weeks. mad that for all our big tech talk, many students don’t have the bandwidth to get at home instruction. mad that we are still debating who is paying for the testing and health care if needed from this virus….and mad that i’ve not done enough about these issues before.
sorry if this is too much for this space, feel free to delete if you feel its not in line with the kinds of comments you are comfortable wiht
You’re just telling the truth.
This hits on the same truth — https://theintercept.com/2020/03/12/italy-coronavirus-united-states-preparedness/
Quote:
I have no confidence that the U.S. will do what is right during and after this pandemic. This country is structurally incapable and fundamentally unwilling to put people over money, and all people over just some.
Another:
This is a society that responds to poverty with police, and to health care needs with jail. It may be true that viruses only see bodies, not class or immigration status, but there is no question that those who will bear the brunt of this pandemic will be the poorest and most marginalized. The fundamental inequality on which everything in this country is predicated will be exacerbated by this crisis in ways we cannot fathom.
More thanks for this, and sympathy for your anxiety and anger! You are definitely part of the solution for me. I am nesting and grooming as my coping mechanisms here. I have a friend visiting who is trapped in my country (New Zealand) by airline shutdowns and styling her has cheered us both up. I’ve given myself a ‘baby hands’ manicure – hard trim, buffed nails, no rings, designed to be washed hard and often, fingertips smooth enough to touch a baby. Please keep posting, you show we can get pleasure out of life as we move through dark times.
Great post, thank you so much! Everything is changing so quickly, it is chaos at work, my Uni has been closed, but my son’s school is still open (which is a worry in itself!). I appreciate a daily dose of reality, and I think you are right that your blog can be a small part of that. We are all stressed – this is unprecedented in our lives – so I thank you for your time and the way you thoughtfully consider the issues. Stay well in every sense of the word!
Alison, thank you for being spot on, now more than ever! What you express to your community of readers is just so important to all of us. Though you are not a doctor, you have a way of helping us to heal our tattered souls, which is just as important to our health as anything right now. The WO community proves that we are not alone, but united across space and time even though that union is “virtual”.
As a retired person, I am somewhat insulated from some of the impacts of COVID-19. But also, this means that my husband and I are in the over 60 higher risk group–especially my husband, because he also has Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Fortunately, he has been relatively healthy since a round of chemo nearly 12 years ago. But to give a picture, when he caught a common cold in January, it took him 3+ weeks and three rounds of antibiotics to get over the secondary infections, including “walking” pneumonia, that happened just from the cold.
We live in a SW city that has not had many cases of the novel coronavirus yet. . . But yesterday, my sweet husband was still in denial about the need for restrictions and precautions, and grumpy with me for being anxious about his choices–which included going to a neighbor’s big spring party, with at least 50 people there. This morning he realized I was right–he really must choose to self-isolate for the most part.
A benefit of being in a SW city is that it is all rather spread out. And we have tons of outdoor recreation spaces to hike, bike and run that are safe–i.e. you can easily be separated from others. That is our saving grace right now, to move vigorously in the beautiful spring of the desert.
Alison, I’m so glad you posted this today. It’s exactly why I read your blog & look forward to it—you have a special way of sharing a variety of topics, issues, thoughts, & feelings with us. We’re all in uncharted territory right now & it’s helpful to hear your thoughts & read the comments here too. I do want WO to be a distraction through this, but it’s also important to me that we can talk about what’s going on in our world right now. If you were ignoring Covid 19 right now & acting as if nothing was going on, I’d be terribly disappointed & upset. But that’s not you & that’s not us!
Thank you Allison for this. You are amazing to open yourself up to us. Bless you, and God bless us all.
Thank you so much for this, Allison — it is always good to read your thoughtful and real life words, but especially now. And a heartfelt thank you to all of the commenters too — it all helps.
Allison – Loved your column today and all the comments that people have posted. I liked the suggestion for one person that maybe you can review hand creams and lotions since we’re all washing our hands more. And I will look forward to your future columns as a reminder that life continues. Do what you do best, and it will be a benefit and a respite to the rest of us. Thank you.
Thank you for the post & articulating what so many of us are experiencing in our own lives. Reading through all the comments was so helpful & calming for me. I am one of those with an underlying health issue (RA). I am concerned about going to work tomorrow and having to interact with ppl coming into the office & how to practice social distancing without appearing rude or self centred. My sister is coming over and we will go for a walk and then enjoy tea time & chocolate as a means of distraction.
Alison,
Thank you so much for sharing your personal feelings and situation. I am much older than you and sometimes feel isolated, but I share my love of fashion with you. I look forward to your posts so keep them up. You are providing
much needed “relief”. To you and to all of us who “follow” you, let’s stay safe and help one another through this difficult period.
Thanks for articulating what so many of us are feeling.
Re the virus news & anxiety. I read somewhere pick 1, maybe 2 times a day to check on it & no more. & I’ve had to stop checking some twitter accounts. Just too stressing. It at least helps me in the AM. Not so much yet while I’m trying to sleep.
Re Hand washing. Maybe a post on good hand lotions. I’m not a lotion person but you better believe I’ve been using it now that I’m washing my hands over & over.
For distraction/how other countries are dealing with this check out @gmcguireinrome on Instagram. She’s posting links for virtual art tours, opera, etc. but what I especially love is how the very social Italians are dealing with being confined to their homes: each evening, all over the country they go to their window/balcony & sing. It’s so amazing to this American. & 1 trainer in Spain is leading workouts on his roof for the apartments around him. I’ve also seen YouTube yoga classes.
& a thanks to Speaker Pelosi & the House Democrats. They passed a relief bill Fri night/sat morning. The Senate should vote on it Tuesday (McConnell let the Senate go home rather than vote on it this weekend.). It’s not as much aid as the Dems wanted, but per Rep Ocasio-Cortez they are going to keep working to improve/strengthen it.
Thank you Alison.
Thank you Allison.
Thank you Alison. Keep your blog going. You are appreciated. Life will get back to normal.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
from up here in Canada.
Fr. Hendrick, my heart is crying, but thank you!
Thanks Alison, and to all of you who have commented. I loved the poem and have sent it to several people – appreciate seeing it here first!
I work in an ICU in a large city and we have two COVID staff cases already. We have checkpoints at the doors to do health screenings (as well we should) and I am afraid all the time – of getting COVID from a patient or a staff and infecting my older husband, of having it already and infecting others (I don’t have symptoms), of getting in a crowed elevator on a hospital with 15 floors. Bonus! I’m thinking about taking the stairs instead and in a moment of back-to-my-regular self, I wonder about cute shoe options for stair climbing.
I am so, so happy to have a moment when I’m not thinking about the end of world. Please keep it up.
Can you please add a link to your page so readers can buy you virtual coffee? I can’t find it.
For you, Alison
Lockdown
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM
March 13th 2020
I love this. Thank you! And thank you, Alison, for your heartfelt post. Please take care.
You, too! His words are amazing, no?
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
A friend sent this to me this morning. It is the most beautiful piece I have seen about our current situation to date. Thank you so much for sharing it here. <3 to all. Sing!
Hugs
Hi Alison – Thank you for putting out there what so many of us are feeling! My husband and I are not particularly high-risk, but we’re in the process of canceling/rescheduling our plans outside the house over the next month. In the meantime, we’re worrying about my elderly parents who are in Texas (from Wisconsin) for the month of March, finally having discussions about them coming home NOW instead of waiting until the end of the month. One thing that occurred to me today is that we have an election the first week of April – we had originally been expecting to vote early because we were going to be out of town for Spring Break, but with our trip now canceled, I’m investigating absentee ballots. I’m sure there are many people who aren’t thinking that far ahead, and who knows what the polling situation will be come election day. These are unprecedented times, thank you for continuing to keep us connected.
Hi Alison:
We are all so frustrated…first it was a “blame-game” and now it;s just let us get through this together and in hindsight be better people for it. We all love you, you are so human! Thank you for all your efforts and sharing your time with us.
Well said. I feel for all the people who are being financially impacted by this. While I know I won’t be financially impacted, I also feel a lot of burden. I worry about my own health, I worry about the health of my patients, I worry about getting sick and harming my patients/colleagues. The most amazing thing in this has been seeing people step up. The Maryland and Hopkins med students have joined together to help provide childcare to healthcare workers who needs it. The emergency medicine residents who already work long hours are saying, “We are here and want to help,” and volunteering to come in on days off. Humanity is here and has hope.
You’re not alone Alison. This whole thing just sucks. As a mom I should be glad school is out and we are being careful. Instead I’m mad and sad for my son. It’s his senior year and a once-in-a-lifetime trip to NYC was cancelled. And with my compromised immune system and illness, I should be glad we are “social distancing”. Instead I just want to go to the local brewery for a beer to drown my sorrows. It’s hard to find the balance right now when my doctor says the only things I can do to stay safe is wash my hands and be mindful. So we will support our favorite local businesses as best we can, wash our hands often and soldier on.
Your intelligence and compassion shine through all of your posts, but this one is especially lovely and needed. Thank you. I am in the “mid-old” and “pretty healthy for my age” category and have been staying home, mostly out of fear. I admire the hard decisions our zoo and museums and other nonprofits and school districts and local governments are making, but I also ache for the loss of income and opportunity this horrendous nightmare is forcing [and I mean by that the governmental nightmare], since I write from privilege. Please stay your wonderful, honest self—-
Allie,
Your comments are spot on with the way we all feel. I was anxious at the crowded grocery store yesterday and got vey angry at the young checker and sack guy for being so, so slow. My husband was embarrassed by my action and tipped both of them to compensate for my bad behavior. I am ashamed of how I acted when they were pleasant and made small talk. I pray this kind of behavior does not rear its ugly head again. Exercise, meditation and prayer will fortify me.
We are living in uncertain times. Let’s cut each other some slack as we endure together.
Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands.
I love your blog title, it is so accurate for all that is happening now . My kids (4th & 8th grade) started their spring break by bringing everything home from school Thursday afternoon. We have been talking about what school will look like in the next few weeks. Their teachers have been awesome with communication telling us to contact them with questions and concerns, thanks to google classroom, email & our class FB page it will make this easier. I found out yesterday that our local library where I work is shutdown until ?? I am saddened by this because it such an important place in our small community but it is probably for the best. We have been sanitizing everything that comes in for a while now as a precaution but who knows if that is enough. My husband works in IT for a healthcare provider, he will be working remotely. My thoughts are all over the place and worrying about my parents who are in their 70’s. We were supposed to celebrate my great aunt’s 98th birthday with her yesterday but we were not able to visit. We called and chatted with her, and promised to see her soon and bring ice cream (she loves her ice cream !) Thanks for letting me ramble. My thoughts and prayers to all to find something good from all of this craziness.
….and this is why I keep reading your blog!
You nailed it!
Hi Alison! I particularly loved your comments regarding avoidance of posting medical advice as “I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV” or however that saying goes? Gave me a laugh. We are all struggling with what to do, what to believe, how to cope with an unknown situation. Reading your blog gives me a chance to think about something else (critical to mental health, not to mention the ongoing health of my husband-distraction will keep me from killing him). I look forward to reading about fashion (how do you feel about J. Jill?), health (I’m going to resume my kettlebell workouts – see above regarding husband survival) and other life topics that you choose to share. We recently bought an RV and are hitting the road this summer – have you done a travel clothes post lately? Anyway, keep doing what you do!
Thank you. I hope your mom is well. We happen to live in the same community, and seeing our bustling little city center dark and so quiet, except for the grocery store, is scary and depressing. I will add that if we can be useful to our at-risk neighbors by delivering groceries or a fistful of daffodils, it is those small things that help keep us grounded/mindful. Since we have so much open space, I find power walking to be a great stress blower-offer. As an aside, a friend who lives alone in an ugly suburb of London relies on Facetime “dates” with her mother and sister who live on different continents. Best to you, your family and all of us.
Thank you for this Alison. For some reason the reality of all of this hit me yesterday. My whole family gathers for my Mom’s birthday every year – it was yesterday. However, my family lives in the most infected county in PA and I am coughing and having asthma trouble so we skipped it. I am confident we did the right thing… but then I question myself- did I over-react? Are my elderly parents taking this seriously enough?? It’s a bizarre time we are living in, and I have questions constantly rattling around in my brain. However, I am also keenly aware that I am very lucky- my income (for now) won’t be impacted, and we have the essentials we need at home.
I apologize for the rambling. It feels good to let it out, though… I look forward to checking in with Wardrobe Oxygen for a much needed dose of normalcy.
Thank you Alison. You’ve described what I think so many of us are feeling: We want to go on with a life that’s as normal as possible (and in many ways, especially for those of us who already work from home, and who don’t personally know anyone who’s ill, it still is). And yet we’re horrified and filled with dread over what we’re seeing and hearing on the news. As a food blogger, I’m feeling torn about posting recipes when there are people standing in lines for hours trying to get into grocery stores and finding nothing but empty shelves. But I’m going to post anyway and I’m glad you are, too, because we will get through this, and in the meantime, it’s essential to have something to read and think about that isn’t about the virus and the economy and the gloom and doom. To remember that life is good.