Life is not supposed to be easy. Can I say that?

I am on call tonight. Two folks needed to be seen. I am gowned and gloved and masked. I see each patient carefully and separately. I usher each out that famous back door and hand them their prescriptions in their cars. I think that one of my staff people is still inside. But alas, they had departed. So, there I was, standing in the parking lot, locked out of my clinic wearing a mask, a gown, gloves and a shield. No cell phone, no purse, no keys. Who in their right mind is going to assist someone dressed like me in the middle of a pandemic? The streets are empty, it's 6:30 pm. I walked to a market that was still open, thankfully. One of the employees called my son who called my husband who drove 20 minutes into town to let me in. I did laps of the building to keep warm. Never, ever would I have imagined such a state.

It's a surreal, unreasonable, ridiculous, COVID 19 moment. I have been known to drop a few profanities. Thank God, no one was around to hear me.

Life is hard. What we are going through as individuals, as communities, a nation, a planet is really, really hard. Are we actually wired to manage this? Can we take it? Can we listen to one more piece of bad news?

Yes, we can. There is no question about that. My biggest problem today was not my frozen toes and upset state, it was trying to manage more donations being dropped off at that famous back door.

Our community is waking up to the needs of others. That makes us unstoppable. Can a virus defeat us? Not possible.

As I sit here, finishing up my on call shift, I am grateful. The paper work has stacked up, the work seems endless. I am tired and hungry but I am grateful. I know how well we will survive this. I can see how much better we will be as a people once this is over. I can feel it.

Strength beyond measure. Hope that surpasses all understanding and power that can conquer our greatest foe....as long as we stay connected and work together.

I am blessed by you and this work that takes me to such unexpected and often difficult places.

When I have more energy, I will fill you in on why the grocery store is safe and why it is so important to get out and walk within our 2m bubble. Sleep well. We are in a tremendous storm but it will soon be over. We are safe and their is no other possible outcome but success!

Anne-Marie