In the House with Hajdu: Kindness in the time of COVID-19

The pandemic has been keeping us apart physically, save for those few friends and family in our bubbles.  We've been keeping our distance, cancelling travel plans and family gatherings, and doing community events virtually. We are wearing masks, washing our hands and using hand sanitizer. School is looming and everything is disrupted. The reality is that our world will be living with Covid for the foreseeable timeframe. This is hard for everyone. And it's why we cannot forget the power of being kind to one another. Now more than ever, we need to pull together.

Each family or personal circumstance is different, but the similarities are this: none of us know when this will end. All of us have faced personal loss or big changes brought on by the pandemic. We often get the advice that even though it seems hard to do, being kind actually helps us feel better too. We rarely see the power of our kindness to brighten up another person's day. But we can all remember when someone in our path was extra gentle with us and how it smoothed the edges of a tough time.

This week, take the kindness challenge. Be extra nice to that frontline worker, tip your server a little more, be patient with delays, and wear a mask in a shop or closed space. You never know. It might just make the day a bit more bearable for someone having a tough day.

Our communities have remained safe because we really care about each other. The stories of how we have helped each other continue to inspire me. Let's keep it up. Let's be there for each other.

Patty Hajdu,
Thunder Bay