A letter from March 23rd, 2020

Dear FutureMe, I hope you are okay today and remembering how lucky you are to be healthy and alive. I hope you are continuing to practice gratitude daily. Today, Monday, March 23, 2020, was the first day of "remote learning" due to the situation involving the Coronavirus. This is all surreal. I meditate. I pray. I moved my coffee table to the side to do home workouts. I am terrified. I struggled with anxiety when life was "normal," but this is scary. It is early in the situation. We know the numbers of infected are increasing. It is difficult to watch the news. My mom, who struggles with basic technology like using her phone or sending an E-mail, is really frantic about the transition to "remote learning." My brother, who hardly ever calls me, has called me three times this weekend. He doesn't know what to make of it. They are telling us to "stay inside" "shelter in place," but we have no idea for how long. We presume school has been cancelled for the rest of the year, and this is the NYC DOE, that would never even close during a blizzard. The questions swirl in my mind: How much more could we have done to stop this? How much worse will it get? How long will it be before life returns to normal? How will I recover from the trauma? Will I be sick? In moments like this, I wonder if God is out there. My one glimpse of hope is being able to walk around outside when the sun is shining. Today, it is cold and rainy. I am better inside. I am safe here. I will be out in the sun soon. I love you.