Coronavirus and Kindness: A Check-In Post on Navigating the Unknown

We remember going into 2020 so excited for this new year and new decade. It felt like a fresh slate, a perfect time to be inspired and tackle some goals. But how quickly things have turned upside down. The way Coronavirus is changing daily life is like something we have never seen before. The last several weeks have been unsettling to say the least and the anxiety of the unknown has been creeping in heavier day by day. We have been a little more quiet on social media recently as we have been trying to take everything in and figure out how we feel. We wanted to do a quick check-in post…

How We Have Been Affected

Of course things started with many plans being canceled, including a big trip to Disney next week with some of our best friends. It was their daughter’s first trip to Walt Disney World and we were so looking forward to some special memories. While we are fortunate to go to Disney often, we were more bummed out about missing this special time with our friends that we have been planning for many months. While we know it is for the best, it still doesn’t mean we aren’t sad about it (especially because we may not be able to reschedule). We know many others in similar situations are quite sad too. We feel especially bad for folks dealing with big, once-in-a-lifetime trips being canceled, not to mention huge events like weddings, graduations, etc. While there are more serious things going on, and it may seem silly to be upset about things like a vacation we believe it’s perfectly ok to not be ok (and please don’t make anyone make you feel guilty!) We let ourselves be bummed for a bit but now are trying to focus on other things.

As far as work goes Andrew is extremely lucky. His company headquarters are located in Boston and decided to enforce all offices to start teleworking mid-late last week. One big positive: the cats are very happy he is home. Julie on the other hand is being affected negatively by current events. Her graphic design and marketing agency started getting the wave of canceled and postponed projects. Not knowing when things will turn around is pretty anxiety inducing. She is trying to focus on some internal marketing projects to be able to hit the ground running when things pick back up. As far as any income from the blog at the moment, that industry is pretty much at a standstill. Page views are plummeting. Any collaboration talks are on hold. Our new meetup initiative is up in the air. We are lucky that the blog is not our main source of income, but for many others it might be. If you are looking to help out your friends in this world know that visiting their site and clicking around for a few minutes, or sending some engagement through social media can be a small but helpful gesture in these times.

How We Are Feeling

While we are very fortunate at least one of has a steady job, it still is stress inducing thinking about finances in general. We are trying to be mindful about managing those right now and looking ahead into the unknown. Being stuck at home can also feel isolating, but at least we have each other. But there certainly is an underlying feeling of distress that isn’t always obvious or clear, but just kind of hanging around. We have found that being exposed to non-stop media about things hasn’t been helping either.

We are also super worried about so many people in our lives. From friends and family in the healthcare field being exposed to a multitude of strangers in a day (especially Julie’s mom who is an at-risk nurse still reporting for duty). We also worry about all of the people in industries such as travel, hospitality, and food that have been hit so hard (many may be out of work completely). The effect is really starting to ripple into so many other industries and job types now too. We pray that the economic impact will turn around quickly, but the longer this goes, the more worrisome the situation seems.

We are also feel angry about certain things. Seeing how family members and friends of Asian decent have been experiencing discrimination is maddening. Knowing our Sister-in-Law (who was moving states out of necessity) was judged at the airport for being there with our infant niece makes us want to slap someone. Seeing how people are being greedy and hoarding supplies is sickening. We are saddened to see this time is bringing out judgmental, rude, and selfish behavior.

On the other hand we have also seen people taking action that is so heartwarming. From people collecting food for children, to others offering to shop for elderly community members, there are certainly people doing some good. Big corporations have even been doing amazing things too such as providing free services or donations to help the cause. We hope that many can be inspired to keep spreading kindness in this time. Even something as simple as checking in on people you know can make a big difference. We are staying hopeful at the end of all of this we will see that some hidden positives come out of all this.

Actions We Are Taking

Even with Julie’s business being affected, we know we are still in a better situation than many. We have been doing our best to support small businesses as much as possible by dining at family owned businesses and keeping appointments for services (hair salons, chiropractors, etc.) in the last week or two when we feel it has been safe to do so. We have made it a point to be gracious and pleasant when encountering retail workers in this environment, they truly are being brave to keep everyone stocked with supplies such as sought after toilet paper. We have also been making an effort to check in with many just to talk.

This week we also did something a little bigger. When Disney terminated the College Program we heard many were displaced and unable to go home. We were able to connect with a college student needing some temporary housing and went to pick her up yesterday to move in with us. Some people may think it is a little crazy to bring a “stranger” into the house during a time like this, but we realize for her it can be even scarier that her whole life was turned over in an instant. We certainly felt compelled to do something, and even if just one person, we hope this small act can truly make a difference for someone who needs it. It’s funny to think that over the years we’ve run into some people in our lives that call us “selfish” because we don’t have kids, which does hurt our feelings as we do our best to be giving people. But one thing we have discovered is our situation actually make us more available and able to help in times like these by having more time and resources to share.

Looking Ahead

As we try to navigate being stuck in the house together we are trying to focus on positivity and avoid the negative. We are trying to limit getting sucked into social media and depressing news stories. We are hoping to find some pockets of time to focus on projects around the house as well as some personal development through books and courses. It is also the perfect opportunity for creativity whether coming up with recipes with long forgotten pantry goods, or finding a better way to organize a closet, having some to-do lists can certainly help distract. We also are planning on digging through our backlog of blog content and finally getting that out. We aim to keep sharing positive Disney related content during this time, so maybe people can escape to Fantasyland for a brief moment until the world is back to normal. So stay tuned for some more articles from us soon. It’s also good to note we are also trying not to feel pressured to be productive 24/7 either. This time of uncertainty can be mentally draining, so we also aren’t holding ourselves to any expectations. If we end up just wanting to spend a little time doing a little bit of nothing together that is perfectly fine too. In the meantime please let us know how YOU are doing. We are always here and happy to chat. We hope everyone is staying safe and as sane as possible. We are now signing off with the perfect quote for these crazy times:

“Have courage and be kind.” - Cinderella