The hubby and I were talking a little earlier today about how fortunate we are right now in terms of our employment. We both have jobs in which we have been able to work from home. I’m still getting full pay, he is at 80%. During the Indiana hunkering down, we’ve been able to help support local restaurants, family, and friends in a variety of ways. We know there are many who aren’t so fortunate, and feel for them.
One of my sisters hasn’t been working for at least a month, but at least she is getting paid. Another sister has had her hours cut because they have, from what I understand, moved many staff into COVID-19 service and she wasn’t able to be a part of those new duties. I have a brother and a sister who are nurses and I worry about them everyday in light of a shortage of PPE and the populations they serve. One brother was just furloughed and then found out he had been exposed to COVID-19, which means he and his children must now be quarantined for 14-days. My nephew is in college and was supposed to do some of his school-based practicums this past quarter, and who know what college will look like this fall. I have a brother (yes, I have a large family) who is serving time and I wonder if where he has been placed is having an outbreak placing him in danger. Friends are also experiencing these life challenges right now.
Where I’m going with this is things are hard for everyone, but much harder for others.
If your family happens to be one of the fortunate ones, please remember to help those around you, whether it be family or friends or charities. Order take out one or twice a week to help the workers of the local restaurants, order books from the local bookstore, and buy plants and gardening materials at locally-owned establishments. Don’t forget the people who style our hair or nails, they too haven’t been working in quite a while; when possible send them your normal payment in whatever timeframe you usually went to see them—this is one I personally didn’t think of, but have since begun to rectify my oversight.
Even if you can only do one of the above things, do it. Pay it forward as one never knows when it might be one of us who needs the help. Pay it backward if you can as that one payment of services, even though you have not been receiving the services, may be the difference between your stylist having a home or not having a home.
I invite you again to join me in paying it forward, and now backward. We all need a helping hand at some point in our lives. This may now be that point for those in our lives.
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 