Oklahoma health officials- Don't make COVID-19 emergency about what you can't do, but what you can do

(From the Oklahoma State Department of Health)

The increasing spread of COVID-19 across our nation is starting to make even the calmest among us begin to get anxious.

It’s easy to wrap ourselves up in our own fears and worries, thinking only as far as those we are immediately responsible for – kids, parents, grandparents, our pets. But this is also an opportunity for us to begin to think about our communities.

This doesn’t mean the zip code our mail is delivered to. It’s the cul-de-sac, block, apartment complex or other housing community we may call home. Have you met your neighbors? Do you know their names or struggles?

What if the challenge of our self-quarantine stops being about all the things we can’t do, and starts being about all the things we can do? Let this be a challenge for each of us to learn something new about the people we should be in community with – and find ways to be more connected. Here are a few ideas to consider:

-If you are well and have the means, leave a note on doors or in mailboxes with your name, phone number and an invitation to text or call for neighbors who may not be able to go out and get their own essentials.

-Have kids? Great – set them up with some crayons and construction paper and ask them to draw pictures and write notes to deliver to neighbors and friends. (Bonus points because you’ve also conducted art class for the day.) People don’t need to open their doors for you to drop these off.

A music teacher in Edmond, Okla. recently posted on Facebook that she has started singing outside her neighbors’ windows to spread a little “light and love” as people stay in their homes.

We know this is hard. We know it feels like a forever change. But it’s not.

And maybe, at the end of this, we’ll find out that there is a lot more that brings us together, than divides us.

You’ve got this!