One Month Till Sleigh Day, One More Light We May Keep Glowing

Time these past nine months has been an oddity.  Plunged into the COVID pandemic, March, itself, felt three months long.  I look back at a trip my husband and I took right before everything exploded, and it seems like it was YEARS ago.

We have all been mired in fear, panic, uncertainty.  Many of us have watched friends or family members contract the virus and live moment to moment, hoping against hope that their symptoms are slight, their recovery quick.  Far too many, however, have had unfathomable grief added to the gripping fear, as they lost loved ones to this invisible foe.  As of this afternoon, the friends and families of 267,924 people face this holiday season with an empty chair at the kitchen table, and a hole in their hearts that will never be filled.

The lyrics to the song One More Light by Linkin Park have not left my mind as each day I chart the numbers on a stack of printer paper that grows taller and taller.  I have done this since March 29.  Multiple times a day I refresh the official global COVID tracker and write down global deaths (1,425,006), US cases (13,104,637), US deaths (267,924), US cases per million (39,498), US deaths per million (808), and US tests per million (559,721).  At any moment I can flip back through the sheets covered front and back and see the snapshot of where we were on any given date, and how fast we have come to where we are now.  It is why I keep writing about this virus, about the need to be vigilant, about how many lives it has erased.

In the song, one of the verses goes:

The reminders pull the floor from your feet
In the kitchen, one more chair than you need oh
And you're angry, and you should be, it's not fair
Just 'cause you can't see it, doesn't mean it, isn't there

I approached this Yes, Virginia season mindful that need across this country is massive.  News stories appear daily with video and photos of miles long car lines waiting at food banks and distribution centers.  Unemployment because of COVID is still real and our government simply has not stepped up to assist in any meaningful way.  A single $1200 stimulus check was not even a drop of water in the flood of time this virus has been impacting industry after industry.  In fact, it was a spit in the eye of all the hurting people in this country.

I have also been mindful that the odds were someone would enter my inbox who is not only in need, or wanting to provide a toy for a child, but that they would be a survivor, facing this Christmas without a spouse or partner who succumbed.  Need compounded with loss, grief, anger, and despair.

I was right.  In addition to those your donations have already been helping - paying electric, water, gas bills, providing gas for cars to get to work, warm clothes in cold climes, and yes, happy toys like a play kitchen, Nerf fun, Legos, board games, Pillow Pets, dolls, etc - we are also bringing into our sleigh a family who lost a parent - she was a nurse who contracted this virus in helping so many others as an essential worker.  As with everyone we help, their privacy is protected, but the father is immensely grateful for this ray of hope and light we are helping provide him and their two children.

We have one month until Christmas morning.  As slow as time has dragged as we sit in isolation, missing travel adventures, going out with friends, etc, time will move quickly towards December 25th.  I have been finding wonderful deals (Gap and Old Navy are always great for clothing items as we end up with "Cash" to use towards more purchases in December), working coupon and promo codes into every purchase, and my inbox overflows hourly with all the companies whose emails I have signed up for through the years.  There are not many deals that escape my notice.

Your dollars are hard at work.  If you can donate, I promise you will be making a profound difference in someone's life.  (Paypal>Send Money>lsharp03@aol.com) If you need assistance, or know someone in your world who does, please email me (Lsharp03@aol.com or lmsharp03@gmail.com).  Again, privacy is always my biggest promise.

Now, take a moment to listen to One More Light by Linkin Park.  While this is not the official video, it captures loss in a way that any heart can imagine it and fear it.  I pray that no light in your life goes out as we continue this battle against our invisible foe.  Please stay safe this holiday weekend.

Linda