Submitted by Betty Malheiro, Ossining Resident
Submitted by Anonymous, Ossining Resident
Submitted by Julie McTavey, Ossining Resident
The importance of gratitude, family, patience, faith and determination. How to allow myself to rest and to grieve. How to take life one day at a time. (and how much I love food!! Ha!)
4/7/2021
How difficult it was to not see family and friends for over a year. The pain of seeing so many people die.
4/7/2021
The change in options for a full life, the suffering of so many, and the heroism of our essential workers. Missing hugging my immediate and extended family and friends.
4/17/2021
How much I miss hugs. I was so cavalier about I was about touching my friends and family in the past - a hug, a kiss on the cheek, a high five. I really miss all of those physical interactions. And I miss having those same friends and family over our house at the drop of a hat.
Everything now takes so much planning and heavy decision making, even the small stuff like apple picking, or birthdays, or whether or not your child takes the bus is a constant Pros and Cons list. It really weighs on you.
The loss of my precious mom and how we all had to adjust her loss and lifestyles.
4/27/2021
I will remember the best and the worst in people during this time.
Fear of being outside and being around people and catching COVID. I have a high Compromise immune system. At one point I couldn’t even food shop or get household supplies for my self my sister had to do all the shopping. Even though New York was suppose to be on pause and we weren’t suppose to leave home and a curfew. I still had to leave out my apt 3 days out of the week for my dialysis treatment, I even had a special paper that I had to show the police If I was ever stopped too let them know i have to get my treatment. I will also remember how careless many people are and people that don’t care about others and them show that by not wear a mask, not social distancing , throwing parties and doing things they shouldn’t and helping the virus spread more. But there is always many people that did listen and follow the guide lines. This virus really showed people’s true colors and it brought out the good and bad in people.
I've learned a lot about what is truly important this past year. I miss socializing, dinners out, summer concerts and as it comes, to be at peace with living in a moment. I've always loved and appreciated nature, and the companionship of my dogs but our daily walks in the woods took on a entirely different purpose. Time out in the quiet of nature was a balm, centered me, and kept me grateful.
4/7/2021
My “work” at Kykuit shut down and will not open until September at the earliest. My volunteer commitments continued on ZOOM, but I was able to go to. the empty new Children’s Center to be recorded by a videographer! My husband and I share cooking now, and do the NYTimes Spelling Bee daily and then share what we have done with our Geronimo daughter in the city.
4/17/2021
I currently work from home so at the beginning it was very I overwhelming as my sons also stayed at home to commence school on line.
4/27/2021
I work in healthcare. I am in a position to work from home. At the beginning and especially the peak of the pandemic, I worked from home. I live alone and am immune compromised, so, while, I was very grateful to work from home, it became very mentally and emotionally challenging to me to work from home every single day. I did not see my family who live fairly close by from March-June. It was a most challenging and lonesome time for me.
It's certainly better now than it was in the spring. OUFSD has really stepped up which means our children's lives are more routine, which means work is more routine. It was rough in the spring though - really rough!
Not using public transportation anymore, my siblings drive me when needed. And a private medicaid transportation for doctor appointments.
-11/12/20
I don’t currently work, but I’m in my first year of college and when COVID first started we were home on spring break and ended up staying home and our classes got switched to all online. Now I’m in my second semester and all my classes are still online.
-11/12/20
Starting in June, I began to work from home three days a week and then in the office twice a week. There are pluses and minuses to both. I favor working in the office for the technology and social interaction, but I do favor working from home where I do not have to wear a mask all day long. At the cancer center I work at, there is more work now than there was before COVID. There are so many extra steps and precautions that must be taken that were not even thought of before.
My team and business was nearly entirely virtual before Covid so transitioning to an all virtual model wasn't challenging at all. What was challenging was helping all of our clients navigate the CARES Act with PPP and EIDL loans - my company works in small business accounting so it was an incredibly stressful time.
I worked from home for the first 9 months and then I was laid off from my part-time job of 15 years. My private practice completely dried up. I hope to rebuild it after we are through this pandemic.
4/7/2021
I was laid off from my job in May and began working as a Contact Tracer last December. It's very rewarding work and quite satisfying to be an active participant in helping to mitigate the spread of Covid 19 in my community.
4/7/2021
COVID 19 has impacted my senior year in many ways. I am not able to see my classmates and other friends in school along with my teachers. In addition to that, I will not experience the many events that come along with senior year. Overall, due to COVID-19, I did not get to have the senior year that any other senior would have had if there wasn't a pandemic.
-10/24/20
We went to the Caputo Center and it was seamless. I did not do my ongoing job as a poll worker.
4/17/2021
It was easy because I sent in my ballet through the mail. When my sister did vote in person she said everyone was social distancing and Second please respectful of each other space.
-11/12/20
My plans for college only changed with my classes being online now, I’m still determined to finish strong and not give up. It’s more of a challenge too learn online from teachers but taking it day by day. It’s all apart of the learning process in life and only making us stronger.
-11/12/20
It’s a challenge and I miss being in the classroom setting.
-11/12/20
My husband and I discovered the joys of baking. He became a bread expert and I discovered an unknown talent for cake making!
4/7/2021
By phone, text and email. I tried to call my friends who lived alone every couple of weeks. I think this experience was particularly hard on them.
4/7/2021