Americans are made to work hard. We’re made to help each other. We’re made to have fun. We’re
made to be social. We’re made to fight for ourselves, our family and our country.

But instead of being asked to fight like generations before us who took up arms, we are asked to do
nothing. Doing nothing is how we’re supposed to fight. That doesn’t sit well with a lot of us. Neither
does the uncertainty.

We want to donate money to help others but we don’t know if we’ll have a job in a month. And even if
we personally weather the storm with savings and “Trump money”, will our boss still have a
business?

We want to volunteer but we’re afraid to be around people and touch anything. At this point, some
people are afraid to walk a foot past their driveway.

We are problem solvers but the fear of the unknown is holding many of us back from doing much of
anything except what’s necessary.

The emotional toll is overwhelming and immobilizes some of us from functioning normally.

Even the people who are still working and busy and are a little more mentally “put together” from
having a semi-normal life are still having issues with isolation, uncertainty and fear. We wake up in
the morning and remember what’s going on pretty quickly.

Concentration and sleep can be difficult, creating a fog where we want to give up and watch old
episodes of Friends and binge watch cat videos. That’s okay for our mental health as long as it
doesn’t become an all day everyday thing.

In our homes, we are working to make our environment safe, especially after we have returned from
the outside world. In our finances, we have to figure out what to pay and when, rationing money for
the necessities.

We grab on to the things we’re used to doing that make us feel normal and safe. In my case, I watch
re-runs of MASH and listen to my crime shows at night. I try to get lost in spending time with my
husband, two cats and dog. I keep up on my friends and family on social media so I know they are
healthy.

But even though we have some normal comforts, we are living a life opposite of what it used to be.
We are living in what seems to be an apocalyptic movie that somehow we were cast into without our
permission. This opposite life has us not working, not going to school, not seeing our family and
friends and not going to church.

So hope and faith is what we have to hold onto. And making the best of the situation. And
remembering who we are as Americans.

I decided to put out our flag just like we did after September 11th. It’s a comforting feeling during this
alternate reality we are living in. It feels like a connection to the rest of the country without being “with”
the rest of the country.