I have a very heavy heart today from watching the statistics climb, especially in my beloved Nola.
Technically, I ve never had a Nola address but its always been a second home to me. I had close family that lived there, when I was a kid, and visited frequently. I am just as comfortable there as I am here at home.
I was so excited when my friend, Nola musician, Shawn Williams, asked me to be a part of her song swap night and I was so looking forward to it. I ve spend the last couple of weeks planning for it.
However, with the virus stats increasing there daily, I have been very conflicted on what I should do.
I live in the Acadiana area, where we do not have any cases-at the time of me typing this. As a RN, I know that it would not be responsible for me to keep that gig. I am not scared of contracting it myself. I am more fearful of bringing it back here and infecting other people, especially those that are considered “high risk”. I felt that I had no choice but to cancel. I had to think about my daughter, family, coworkers and everyone else here in my area.
In addition, I just don’t think it d be a good business decision because I don’t think that I would be able to sale enough pieces to cover my costs. In times like these, art is the last thing people are buying.
Shawn was amazing and understanding and we are most definitely going to be planning something different in the future.
Small businesses and local artists are the ones that are feeling the financial impact of this the most. Please continue to support them in the ways that you are able to right now. They need it badly.
Our Nation (and world) is in a crisis right now but this too shall pass! Be kind to your neighbors and be good to one another. We have to stick together to be able to make it through.
Please follow reputable sources for information such as the CDC https://www.cdc.gov , World Health Organization, https://www.who.int and the La. Dept of Health, http://www.ldh.la.gov/Coronavirus/
If you do not live in La., your state’s Dept of Health website will also provide with your state’s info.
As a nurse, I can not emphasize this enough…WASH YOUR HANDS! Please don’t rely on hand sanitizers. Hand washing is the number one defense. Also, staying away from large crowds and following “social distancing”
Here is a video that shows proper hand washing technique. https://youtu.be/seA1wbXUQTs
For those of you that are Christian, I will be praying for God’s intercession and asking St Rapheal, the Angel of Healing, to assist us. Prayer partner requests are welcome so feel free to reach out to me about that if you d like.
Be safe and make good decisions everyone
May God bless America
~Tiffany/TMatt Photography LLC