Life has certainly changed since my last blog post in more ways than one. Apologies for being MIA, but I’m grateful to my sister who is my teammate on this blog and picks up my slack when I can’t find the words or don’t have the time.

We started this blog together 4 1/2 years ago as a creative outlet and a place to discuss our passion for fashion. Over the years it’s developed itself into a little bit more than just a fashion blog and has grown into something dynamic that allows us to share little pieces of our lives. We are so grateful for that.

During this time of uncertainty for many, it’s hard for me to justify posting about something I bought online or new home decor. We have always kept our posts positive and upbeat, and mostly materialistic but the reality of it is that our lives are not perfect and are so much more complex.

Allie so eloquently shared her current situation and experience during her quarantine last week, so if you missed last week’s blog post please take a moment to read it. Just as we are different in our styles, she and I are also facing this pandemic in drastically different ways.

Some of you know that I work in health care. I am a clinical pharmacist for a specialty and retail pharmacy associated with a major healthcare system and hospital. I am a “front-liner” in this crisis. Unlike many others that I know who are forced to stay home for weeks and may be grieving loss of income, loss of freedom, and loss of interaction I continue to carry on as normal and provide care to my patients.

Let me start off by saying that I am not scared to go to work. I am also not complaining that I continue to have to go to work. I love my job, my coworkers, and caring for our patients. It is why I chose my profession to begin with. Would I be grateful for some time off during this madness to clean my house, spend more time with my dog, and binge watch TV? Sure! But the grass always seems greener… I want you all to know whatever your situation neither scenario is the easy way out in this. We are ALL making individual sacrifices in hopes of making a difference for the majority, and for that I thank you.

Regardless of your own political views of current leadership, your amount of trust in the media reporting, or any other argument you can make for or against the current crisis I just want you to realize we are all in this together. Everyone’s experience, thoughts, and feelings are valid. Treat everyone with kindness and a little more patience. It’s not important if they don’t see things exactly the way that you do, it’s more important that they are a fellow human being who is also affected by these current times. People cope differently.

Because my husband and I both work in healthcare settings we have been following isolation and distancing precautions, probably more than most. I miss my family and friends. I miss hugging them and being in the same place as they are. But I refuse to put them at risk and I refuse to let them become part of the statistics. I have a friend that recently moved to NYC, the epicenter of the pandemic in our country. I worry about her daily. My father in law is in his 60s and works in a hospital. I worry about him and my mother in law every single day that they could contract COVID-19 and be unlucky to experience it in severity. My beloved aunt and uncle are retired but very active and I worry that they could come in to contact with the virus from someone else, despite all of the precautions they take. Someone close and dear to us has asthma and this virus viciously attacks the respiratory system, whether weak or strong. I worry for so many others all day long as I care for my patients and think about how scared and confused they must be during all of this. I worry for the other healthcare workers all around the world who are facing each day with uncertainty and sometimes lack of protection, but armed with their immeasurable knowledge and skills of how to care for another life. They will put everything on the line to save a life.

If perhaps you don’t agree with what’s being reported by news outlets, or if you don’t think that the virus will impact in a magnitude in your own town, please face the reality of the situation that people are still getting miserably sick and dying. It doesn’t matter the numbers and it doesn’t matter the age or demographic. Something terrible is happening to fellow humans and we should do everything we can to prevent someone else’s suffering.

These two weeks have been mentally and emotionally draining. Every day has been focused on impending stress. I read an article someone shared stating health care workers in the U.S. are experiencing something that can only be described as “pre-traumatic stress”

Amid the funny memes on your feed, if you have a healthcare worker as a friend, you have undoubtedly heard their pleas for you to say home. Some are asking with more passion than they’ve ever asked you for anything.

It’s because we see our country’s future in the stories told by our colleagues abroad. Do you know how defeating that knowledge is? That something terrible can happen and there isn’t a lot we can do ourselves to prevent it. Do you know healthcare workers go to work every day trying their best (some without proper protective equipment) NOT to get the virus, just to buy one more day… FOR YOU! Because as soon as we get it, even if we will “be fine”… that is one less person available to take care of you or your loved ones. The only hope we have (or know of) is to slow transmission by social distancing. But it’s NOT happening, not the way it should… so we are all just “bracing for it” and await for the tsunami of cases that are on their way. I pray that the hospital I am affiliated with doesn’t run out of supplies and ventilators. My fellow healthcare workers are healers. The thought of having to be involved in a life or death decision is soul crushing.

And then on the other hand, none of this may happen. But the information we have says it is imminent, so I guess what I’m saying is… it’s not always about YOU and what YOU want… healthcare workers are getting very little of what they want or even need right now, but we will carry on.
We are all doing our best, help us so we can help you!

Thank you to everyone making a sacrifice. You are a hero if you stay home and you are a hero if you are working. I am sorry and empathize for those that have cancelled trips, postponed life events, and put everything on hold. I know that one day this will pass. This is not a new normal, but rather a temporary situation. Do your best and use this time wisely and stay safe. But most importantly…