“When is it not going to be Sunday anymore?”

My daughter, Pearl, turned four yesterday. Her day was filled with FaceTime birthday celebrations, a Zoom meeting with her pre-school class, drive-by "Happy Birthday" celebrations from neighbors, and a virtual birthday celebration with both sets of grandparents- thank goodness for video chats. We planted vegetables and flowers inside and outside to watch them grow over the coming weeks.

At one point Pearl came over to me and sat on my lap. She said to me “When is it not going to be Sunday anymore?” The thought was really- when do I get back to my routine? She looked more somber than at any other point in the day. She went on to ask when she was going to see her friends for her birthday party, when she was going to see Ania- our friend who takes care of her and our son, and has since Pearl was 3 months old. We spoke about how that would happen soon, and she seemed OK for the time being. As a parent, my heart broke for her. However, as someone who is in healthcare I know this is the right thing to do. Social distancing is working. As Americans, we need to do better so we can get back to normal.

The NY Times put out a great graphic in their op-ed section that speaks to why I feel so strongly in continuing to stay put... lifting this by Easter does not get the job done. I should also mention that I turn 40 on Easter, and no one would love to have some freedom back in their life to celebrate a milestone than me... but I believe in the right model (below) for the health and well-being of my family, friends, and fellow community members near and far.

If you are like me, if you are going to be isolated, you want to make a difference even if you can't leave your house. I found a few great things happening and would encourage you to share more ideas on how to help here in the comments section, or reshare this post with your suggestion. #spreadhelp

#Spreadhelp ideas:

• Give gratitude meals to first responders in the Seattle area who are managing one of the biggest outbreaks in the U.S. https://www.mediconefoundation.org/
• Help the restaurant business workers through the James Beard Restaurant Relief Fund: https://www.jamesbeard.org/relief
• The City of NY has set up a site to volunteer or support those impacted: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/helpnownyc/resources/covid-19-relief.page

Be well.