Life as We Knew It

My mom is in her early 70’s. She lives across the country, in Maine, where I grew up. She walks with a cane, diagnosed with MS when I was 19. This morning as I sat drinking coffee and reading the news, she texted to let me know that she’d fallen again on Friday. She was medicating and getting better and I didn’t need to worry, she simply wanted me to know. This is just one of the many subplots of my own life right now; one of the many things that are weighing on my heart and asking for attention as we continue navigating a global pandemic. I am not alone in this. Neither are you. Coronavirus has stopped us from leaving our homes, from carrying on with business as usual, but it has not stopped the many things that we were already worried about and dealing with prior to COVID-19 arriving on our doorsteps, and our doorknobs. As we look to make meaning of this and find others like us, let us also honor the unique realities of our lives right now. As leaders and colleagues, let’s stop to simply ask each person how they’re coping and what they need, recognizing the speed at which those things can change these days. There is no defined bereavement timeframe for “life as we knew it” in any employee handbook. We must create it as we go...

#leadership #socialdistancing #youarenotalone