We are not meant to live in isolation. What makes us healthy and whole are the connections we form with one another.  With our families. Our friends. Our colleagues and our community…  The thing we need the most to feel healthy has become harder to get.

After more than 30 years in the field of social work, I know one thing to be true. We do not need to be victims to our situation. We have choices to make, each and every day about how we want to live our lives. How we choose to show up for ourselves and each other.

One of the hardest things about this time for me has been the loss of travel, the opportunity to explore. If you know me, you know I love to travel. Give me a passport and a seat on a plane or in a car and I’m on my way, ready for what comes next. I thought it might be fun to travel, however virtually, around the US and yes, even abroad, to visit with people and hear how they’re doing during this difficult time. Over the next few weeks I’d like to bring you a glimpse of what life is like for our friends and neighbors in other places.

Today we meet Melissa who lives in Dayton, Ohio.

Welcome Melissa. Tell us about what life is like in your area. I live in a small town north of Dayton, Ohio.  For the past seven weeks I have been at home with my 3 high school/college age children and husband. We have been fortunate.  No one in our house has contracted COVID.  Our county to date has seen 33 cases and one death.  We do know people that have had it and have died elsewhere in the country.  

How have you been affected by the pandemic personally? Has it affected your work? I have been working from home but  I have not had much to do as I work in our church office as we have been closed as part of the stay at home order.  My husband is a general surgeon and for 6 weeks, only went in for emergencies-all elective procedures were canceled. 

You have children both in college and high school. How has this impacted their education? My daughter, a college student,  was studying abroad in Thailand.  The program closed mid March and all students were sent home.  She was lucky in that it was one of the few programs that was able to continue online and therefore she did not lose any credit or extend her time in college.  I also have 2 children in high school, one is a senior.  The have been in virtual classrooms since March 16. I feel bad for my son, the senior, as his time in high school just ended.  There is no closure. They went home on a Friday and that was it.  No prom, no last class, no spring sports, no graduation.  It just ended.  My youngest is by far my most social and she has not seen her friends in person since it started.

What has been the hardest thing for you to deal with? I venture out to the grocery once a week to collect everything we should need.  We try to do our part by supporting local restaurants and order carry out more than we normally do.  We laugh because gas dropped to $1.05/gallon, but we had no where to go.  

What have you appreciated during this period? The positive thing is the family time we have had.  We have been eating dinner together, playing games in the evening, watching movies.  Our lives were so busy that we rarely spent time with each other, passing in the kitchen coming and going.  We take walks and participate in virtual workout classes.  We have been very fortunate during this pandemic as we have not been truly negatively affected.  Sure the first world inconveniences, but we are all healthy and still working

Thanks for inspiring us and for sharing your experience, Melissa.

Let’s broaden the conversation, shall we? Would you like to be featured in our guest interview posts? We want to hear from you! Email me at suzanne@suzannemaggio.com.