Grace - Central Illinois
Occupation: Office Manager for Plumbing company
What Covid-19 related restrictions are in place where you live?
Illinois has implemented a stay-at-home policy. The nature of my job has been deemed essential. However, I have arranged to do 95% of my job from home and am fortunate that I can enter my office from a separate door where no one else has been if I need to go in.
What has been your biggest challenge during this crisis so far? I would say there have been two major challenges. My mom recently became very sick (not Covid-19 related) and was in and out of the hospital from January-March 1st. The fear of her having to possibly go back to the hospital for care is terrifying. It could be the only way to save her and the only way to kill her in one location. The gravity of her being sick before this and then being isolated is also extremely painful. I am highly aware of the time I am losing with her while she is isolated.
Second challenge - I began following this very closely before it was trending, which is very odd as I am not normally someone who follows the news. It was very challenging when it wasn’t mainstream and I would try to explain to others how serious this was and they would not listen. I got into several arguments with friends and family over decisions I made and precautions I fought for them to take.
Describe the emotions you/your family are feeling through this crisis? Right now, it has been somewhat of a blessing to have all of this extra family time for my husband and kids. The sadness I feel over not being able to spend time with my parents, sister and brother is very deep. I worry about friends and family who are by themselves constantly.
“Turning down the noise and not having to go anywhere has really given more time to actually pray.”
What are you doing to help cope?
I drove to see my parents, my sister and my in-laws. The weather was decent enough that we could be outside of their homes and talk to them. That made me so happy. I taught my 92-year-old granny how to FaceTime . We downloaded Google Duo and talk to all of our family daily. The kids in my family, a.k.a. the cousins, all talk via Facebook messenger.
If you have a religious background, how has this crisis affected your faith? It has affected my faith immensely. My oldest daughter asks to pray every day now and leads our family in prayer. I have not ever asked her to do this. She just started it herself. Turning down the noise and not having to go anywhere has really given more time to actually pray.
Have you seen any small victories in all of this for you or your family? Spending more quality time and growing very close.
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