I’ve been doing a lot of waving from a distance these days.

Waving at my USPS postal worker, with deep gratitude for their service. Waving to the Amazon delivery driver and the Pizza delivery guy as they drive down my street to support one of my neighbors. I tried to wave to my trash and recycling team, but they were too fast and efficient in their work. I am grateful for what they are doing now, and always for keeping our communities clean and tidy.

Thank U Frontline

It’s time to thank the brave men and women working on the frontline to help save us all. While most of us hold up in the safety of our homes, many are risking their lives everyday on the frontline for the greater good. For that, we say #ThankUFrontline. Share with someone you love who deserves thanks.

Love, Chris Mann

I found myself waving from the inside of my front door to the working mom, Britany, who delivered my groceries the other day from Instacart. She is out there risking her life (at minimum wage) so that I don’t have to risk mine by doing my grocery shopping for me. In addition to an extra tip that I gave her on the Instacart App (no exchange of cash), I left Britany a small gift outside the door – two pages of fun cat-stickers and a handwritten note to give to her daughters. Their mom is a hero, afterall.

And then there are the amazing healthcare workers. How in the world can we thank them for their incredible commitment, skill and sacrifice during these tumultuous times? I’ve been speaking with my good friend Dawn who is a nurse in Oregon and the stories she shares about her experience in the hospital are pretty daunting. And they are doing all this for us without adequate supplies of PPE – personal protective equipment. It’s unimaginable. We must get our act together and protect our healthcare workers. They are our soldiers on the frontline of this virus.

I was listening to an interview of a US doctor on the Rachel Maddow show last week. The doctor had volunteered to help during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a few years back. Now he is on the frontline of COVID-19 crisis in a hospital in the US. I was touched by his sign off to the interview. After Rachel thanked him for what he has and continues to do for other people, the doctor said, “I will go to work for you everyday.” Wow!

Chris Mann perhaps says it best

Then last night my husband and I watched this touching music video from the incredibly talented vocal performer, Chris Mann. Chris has been putting out some very funny musical parodies lately to allow us housebound people a little comic relief. My favorite one is My Corona by Chris Mann, followed by the Stay Home Vogue (Vogue Corona Parody by Chris Mann). Chris is very creative and he is sending messages that are really important to hear and act upon right now. In his newest release, “Thank U FrontLine” he expresses his heartfelt appreciation for healthcare workers and all the people who are risking their lives right now to keep us going and help us get through the COVID-19 outbreak. It is definitely worth watching….perhaps everyday! (Check out the very touching lyrics to his song.)

War for masks?

Toilet paper hoarding was bad enough, but now there is a panic and buying frenzy for face masks. Really? Don’t let your primal brain take over your modern brain and cause you to act in ridiculous ways. While we all want to survive this crisis, without healthcare workers, we are toast. Let’s prioritize the masks and other protective personal equipment for the frontline workers, like doctors, nurses, grocery clerks, delivery folks, police and firemen. It’s not only the responsible thing to do, it’s the sensible thing to do. Stay calm and stay at home. And if you have a sewing machine, you can get creative and help out yourself and others by making fabric face masks like the folks at Charlotte Ballet Center for Dance are doing. Impressive!

We all have a role to play

Now is the time to show our appreciation to those who are making such huge sacrifices to keep us all safe. Now is the time to do our part to not only thank them but also to do our part to flatten the curve of this virus by STAYING HOME. Or as Chris Mann puts it in his beautiful song, “How’ bout working together for the greater good.”  What each of us does affects the other. No one is immune from this virus – Young, old, middle aged; black, brown, white; single, married, widowed; straight, gay, undecided; healthy, inactive, sick; citizen, immigrant, VISA holder; Christian, Muslim, Jewish. We all must work together  to defeat this global pandemic. We are truly in this together.

Keep safe, stay home, safe lives.