“When someone is grieving one of the best things to do is just be present. Your presence was felt Three Rivers. I balled afterward and finally regained a sense of peace knowing that so many others care, are willing to have the hard conversations, and take a stand against injustice. After all of the mourning, there was joy.”

Normal has gone and won’t be back any time soon due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here lies an unusual fork in the road, but a crossroad just the same. A question. Who in this moment will you be? Some of you, like myself, have stood at this familiar intersection before. Maybe after the loss of a job or relationship or sudden crisis. It was glaringly obvious you had reached a point and had to decide who you were going to be in that defining moment and beyond. This is just like that.

Around the world there was little time to brace for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has rocked so much to the core, including me. As a daughter, friend, wife, mother… human, I am concerned about not only those that I love, but also those that I don’t know all over the world.

In the midst of planning, cleaning and assisting, one unexpected emotion that kept circling back was grief. It took me by surprise, but its presence was undeniable. Grief.