Hi.
Coffee: Maxwell House Master Blend, Office Coffee
It’s been a while since I’ve made a post. A month and a half, in fact. For two years this was a daily blog, then I stopped. I’d run out of things to say. And to be honest, I don’t know where it’ll go from here. But this is an unusual time and I think it’s important that I share some thoughts on it.
Like everyone, I’ve been dealing with the new normal of the COVID-19 shutdown. Unlike everyone, I’ve been fortunate to keep my job. I work in banking. Banking is an essential service. My job’s not going anywhere soon.
There are many, many people in my country, the USA, and around the world who can’t say the same. There are many, many people who are hanging onto their health, their homes, their families like fishing lines. I’ve talked to mothers and fathers who have lost jobs. I see the reports just like you do, the deaths, the record unemployment numbers.
I know that I’m fortunate.
Today, COVID relief stimulus checks started being deposited in peoples’ bank accounts all across the US. $1200 came to mine. And when I look at my life, the food in my pantry, the paychecks every week, the short drive to work, I know I don’t need it as much as others.
So I’m writing this special post to encourage any other American out there who finds themselves as fortunate as me – well-fed, financially stable – to make the choice to donate your stimulus check to a cause you believe in. Today, I donated mine to Housing for New Hope, a charity in Durham, NC that works to provide housing to the city’s homeless and to ensure that whoever it works with is given resources and support to maintain that housing once they’ve gotten it. It’s a cause I believe in, one that’s working in a city that is dear to my heart. Please consider donating to a charity doing good work in your local community as well.
Crisis breeds fear like tiny bedbugs. And for good reason, because so many beds are over-ridden. But my bed is clean, and I’m so grateful, and I want to humbly give a bit of that gratitude back.
When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.
Maya Angelou
Livesay Writing 