We are all links in a chain. No link is unimportant, each link, every individual, is completely essential. Together we play a role in achieving a greater purpose. My friends and family are health care workers and law enforcement officers. They are on the frontline, working long hours for our health and protection. Daily they see, handle, and resolve issues so we can live in comfort. Yet, they rely on us for comfort, too.

The frontline workers depend on their support systems for things like childcare, senior care, appropriate equipment, food, and emotional care. When they are secure, when they know their families are safe in their absence, they commit and focus on their jobs. When they have needed equipment, and we remind them of the simple functions of eating and sleeping, they work at peak levels with confidence. And when they have seen and experienced more than any human should, they need a shoulder to lean on, and a reminder we appreciate, love, and honor them.

I applaud as businesses pivot from their normal production to manufacture hand sanitizer, face shields, acrylic screens, masks, and other necessary equipment. Restaurants deliver meals to hospitals, fire and police stations, and homeless shelters. Often, they donate or supply these items at cost. Other critical organizations are working to keep the lights on, water running, and the infrastructure humming without interruption.

Even as we isolate, we still perform a vital role. We are the curve flatteners, the smiling faces, the sustainers of positive attitudes, the reminders they are not alone, and their flame of hope.

Are you an aware and strong link?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer