We get it. Trust us. We do.

The world is in an incredible state of flux. There is a lot of uncertainty, anger, sadness, worry, exhaustion.

We’re doing everything differently. We’re taking classes online, we’re working at home, we’re ordering in groceries, we’re facetiming with grandparents, we’re avoiding travel, we haven’t been hugged in daaaayyys, our hair is unkempt, our bread is freshly baked, and we all have a small stockpile of toilet paper. Just. In. Case.

We get it. Change is haaaaard.

If our own financial situation is okay (knock wood), we all have friends who are struggling. The CERB payments only went so far for my single-mom friend. I’ve been sending her a small fresh fruit and veggie order every two weeks.

We get it. Times are tough.

On top of the big things going on in the world (a global pandemic, civil rights protests, political discord, travel restrictions), we’re all dealing with the every day personal things too. In my case, so far this year, my dog died, my car needed extensive repairs, my GAD kicked back in along with panic attacks, I started therapy, my sewer backed up (two separate times), my roof was leaking, my laptop died, I haven’t seen my auntie since March. I live alone and I’m going weeks at a stretch without talking to anyone except the cashiers at the grocery store.

We get it. Coping is hard at the best of times.

The thing is, it’s all hard, for all of us. We just never know what another person has on their plate. Maybe they’re managing better than we are. But maybe they’re not.

Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

~ Jacki for AES