As the days get longer and longer, and as I spend more time with my husband and two teens at home, I see things a little differently. I am so thankful for these kids who really do get along, for the most part. Not the fighting and bickering that I used to do with my brothers growing up. I am thankful that when my husband is trying to work from home and I bug him 50 times a day, he doesn't snap at me, but asks me, "Yes, my love?" It could be so much worse for us here at home. I did have a day this week where I felt really bad about things. Not with my family, but more with my friends. I have a dear, sweet friend who is a nurse. She's a single parent, trying to work at the hospital, and pay her mortgage, just like many people out there. But she also has elderly parents, and no daycare. She is very concerned about contracting COVID19, as an essential worker in the hospital, and won't send her daughter to her parent's house for care because she may make her parents sick. So, instead, if she can't find a friend to help look after her 9-year-old, then she has to stay home, with no pay. This makes it hard to pay all the bills. I really feel for her. She lives 4 hours from me, and I feel so helpless. I pray she doesn't get sick, and can cope with her situation. I have another friend who has a daughter that is not coping well with this situation the world is in. Her daughter already suffers from anxiety and bouts of depression. This inactivity, and no face-to-face socialization is creating worse anxiety and depression for this bright, and lovely young lady. I know this type of emotional stress in the house, is going to affect everyone living there. How can it not? The family can't get away from it at a time like this. I really feel for her. I pray this girl's mind settles down and can cope with all this. I know friends that are extraverts who are trying to cope, but I know they are struggling. I pray for them too. I have elderly family members who are house bound (or at least yard bound) and are trying to avoid the grocery stores, and anyone who may want to visit and see how they are doing. Praying for them. And for all the funerals that get put aside, and the family members who can't see their parents in seniors' homes, more praying. I feel badly for those who are struggling. It hurts me to know I can't help them as much as I want to. And, I even feel kind of badly that I'm one of the people that are doing okay. I try to reach out and check on my friends and family with my phone or text or messenger or whatever platform I can reach them, and I guess that's all I can do, besides pray. Believe it or not, I'm not particularly the praying type. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I thought of praying. But these are unique times, and I feel like it calls for unique measures. My idea of praying is more like sending good thoughts and good vibes out into the world in hopes that people feel like they are not alone. So people know that someone is thinking of them right at that moment in time, when they need to know they are in the thoughts of someone who cares about them. We truly are all in this together, and we need to care for each other like never before. I am hoping that this caring for others, reaching out with a call or a text, keeps up well past the coronavirus pandemic, and becomes the new norm. That's what I will pray for after all this craziness is over