The Have Nots

Today I found out I got the job. I was both happy and relieved - all in the same breath. And while this was wonderful news, for which I was very grateful, I could not help but stop and think of those who are currently less fortunate. The "Have Nots." We know that tens of millions of people are worrying each day, for weeks now, about their own employment future. Right now, I am one of the lucky ones. I am well aware of that. As I am equally aware of the fact that anything can and - so far in 2020 - will change...on a dime. A few weeks ago, I would not have thought it possible to find a job during a pandemic and with so much uncertainty in the world. But my skepticism was proven wrong because there actually are companies still hiring. I went through the usual process - resume, cover letter, interview, second interview, reference check. I easily felt myself falling back into the trap of despair time and again. And, all the while, trying to avoid too much obsession with news platforms and social media that are practically asking each other now when we can expect to return to "normal." But I had to have hope, because what can you do without it? That I got the job was almost bittersweet news, because as much as I need the job and the health insurance and the income, what I would really love would be to go to the mall on a Saturday with a few hundred other people. Or sit in a darkened movie theatre with 10 or 20 fans with similar taste in Keanu Reeves action films. Or go for a walk without having the person approaching me cross the street to avoid me. Or just to have everything back "the way it was." Having friends and families looking forward to their next vacation at the happiest place on Earth, along with so many other families, milling about without a care in the world. But now, we have all the cares (and concerns) of the world, and many of them focus on how we will survive in such a crazy, upside down world. So even though I have this job, I am making the conscious decision to keep in mind the Have Nots. And I invite you to do the same. I am donating a portion of my first paycheck to World Central Kitchen (www.wck.org). I still hold that the only way we will get through this is together and since someone has given me a chance, I want to be able to contribute to someone somewhere else who needs one too. Don't just stay safe; stay hopeful.