Pressing pause on life: COVID-19

Because of COVID-19 life just flipped upside down for many, many people.

In a matter of 5 days I went from being disappointed about our vacation being cancelled to being unemployed. Mental whiplash, if you will.

Everyone is being affected in some way, and this shouldn’t be a competition of who has been affected more, or worse, but rather I want us to all accept and understand that this sucks for pretty much everyone. Nobody is winning, no one’s disappointment is more or less valid than anyone else’s. I feel so bad for the people who are struggling to feed their families, have lost their job, that are stuck at home in an unsafe situation, that are immunocompromised and so scared. But I’m also sad for students not getting to finish their senior year, for vacations cancelled, weddings cancelled or postponed, all the little things we took for granted that we can’t have for the foreseeable future.

Sidenote: I think it is also WILDLY frustrating to see people being downright stupid and disrespectful about the severity of the situation (some of my extended family included). Please, I beg you, do not be like this.

The hardest part for me is the unknown that comes with COVID-19.

When will we be allowed to see our friends and family again? To travel? How long will it take me to find a job? Will some of my favorite local small businesses survive this? Can all my friends in healthcare stay healthy and work in a hospital? How long will the global economy feel the effects of this? Will we be able to better prepare for the next time something happens? How can our country better help the people?

It is challenging; I don’t want to only talk about COVID-19 but lately, I’m struggling to talk about anything but. We’re pressing pause on LIFE right now, so everything I would be writing about on here (travel, spring style, fitness) is on hold. I live in Michigan, and as of yesterday we received the Stay at Home order until APRIL 13. Which feels like a REALLY long time for someone who is usually on the go.

I’ll admit it, I’ve spent the last week as a semi-functioning lump. Really just letting myself wallow, eating too many cookies, shedding some tears and binge watching Schitt’s Creek. And I needed it, I really did. Today (Tuesday) is the first day I woke up in a mentally better spot (aka I actually wanted to get out of bed).

My goal is to get a little bit better every day

I have plenty of lists – things to do for my blog, things to do around the house, jobs to apply for etc, but moral has been LOW, so low. I’m making my self have some sort or routine and schedule because I need it. I decided on Sunday to start sharing 3 things I’m grateful for each morning. I’m sharing this on Instastories + via text with my friend Casey.

I plan to keep blogging, and am looking forward to a some more time to dedicate to this space. Generally my blog is lower priority, but since my work(s) have closed, I have more time. (Silver lining). I will get back to fashion and lifestyle, but it will be different.

I am not going to be shopping for a bit (you know that whole unemployed thing is a big factor there) but I did purchase a few spring/summer items before the shit hit the fan. Expect to hear more about those next week in my monthly closet recap. And this will serve as a great opportunity for me to get more creative, remix what I own, and keep sharing new outfit ideas with you with old pieces.

I hope that this pandemic changes us for the better. I believe that there is good that will come from COVID-19. It might not be apparent now, or in the immediate future, but it will come.

Big thanks to all of you who have checked on me this past week. And for those who keep stopping by here, supporting me and showing up. We will get through this together.

Much love,
Maddy