Wow has life changed in the past few weeks… Here we are amidst the Corona Virus pandemic. Something we began hearing about months ago, and never in a million years did I think we would get to a point like we are today.
So very sad, terrifying, unpredictable, and completely unknown. I have to say that this is one of the most life changing times that I’ve lived through – especially in my adult life.
On St. Patrick’s Day at 4pm we were called into a meeting where my department was told that we were being furloughed for the foreseeable future. At the time, they estimated 6 weeks. Now two weeks in, it seems like it’s going to be significantly longer. As of March 29th, the hotel officially closed its doors to wait out the pandemic. There are approximately 8 employees left in total to keep the essentials running while everyone else is away.
Receiving the news was incredibly hard and stressful. I had just announced my pregnancy at work, and had gone through a week from hell dealing with the cancellations that began to roll in. People would call and scream at us for being insensitive, blind, ridiculous, idiotic, etc. This was something that I’d never had to deal with before.
Immediately following our meeting where the news broke, we packed our important belongings, and headed out. No last emails to our clients – I was particularly worried about my brides/grooms that are still planning their upcoming weddings, and now no longer had me to help. I take great pride in my job, and great customer service, as well as the relationships that I build with all of my guests, and it was heartbreaking to walk away in such a scary time for everyone. All I can hope is that they will understand once I come back.
I had an emotional couple of days – what will life be like now? I jumped on the unemployment website along with the what turned out to be millions of other Americans to get my claim in. Something so foreign to me.
The one glimmer of good news that came was my company decided to extend our benefits through May. This was the biggest relief. When temporarily losing my job, I wasn’t so much concerned about the paycheck – we have some savings, I figured we could get by, but being pregnant, and having Crohn’s Disease – I NEED my health insurance. We were initially told that this would only last through the end of the month. With this news, everything began to feel just a little bit more… okay.
This was the first time in my adult life that I’ve had any time off work. I’ve been trying to relax and take care of myself. We’ve been taking the dogs on a walk almost daily, and getting some extra exercise in whether it be a prenatal workout on YouTube, a ride on our indoor bike, or playing Beat Saber on our VR headset. Some baking, some cooking, lots of binge-watching TV shows, and of course cleaning and organizing. My body is feeling pretty good, and I am trying to keep my mental health in a good place as well.
My coworkers and I have all been checking in on each other often. I miss them dearly, and can’t wait to be all back together in hopefully the near future.
Mike is still employed (thank goodness) and has been working from home. We are going on 3 weeks of spending every waking moment together with no escape… the joys of marriage. 🤣 But in all reality, I am very grateful to have him around to help. Though he is certainly getting off pretty easily having a pregnant wife during this pandemic! It’s not safe to go to the store for all my cravings so alas, I’m stuck with what we have. He has been very over protective of me and my health and won’t even let me join him in the grocery store. Sometimes I get to ride in the car, but always have to wait. I am okay with that, but sure miss a Target run, or could use some craft supplies! Our dog walks for fresh air will have to do. 🙂
In the meantime, stay healthy, stay safe, and stay inside. From the wise words of High School Musical – We’re All in this Together!… 😉 I’m hopeful that soon we will be able to look back on this time as a distant memory and a lesson to learn from as we dive back into an even better way of life.
Laugh Often – Rachel
Simply Stoops 