Grace and Gratitude
Despite COVID, Giving Thanks Is Still the Order of the Day
This month many of us will be celebrating Thanksgiving. While our observance this year may look different than in times past, the focus on gratitude hasn’t changed. We asked you to tell us what you’re thankful for, and here’s what you told us:
Rosie Belleman (second from right) and her family enjoying some together time on a recent vacation.
Before COVID-19, to see everyone in my family sitting around the kitchen table for dinner was scarce.
With everyone running a mile a minute, it seemed impossible to align everyone in my family’s schedule to sit down, all together, and enjoy a meal. When everything began to close due to COVID-19, my kitchen table remained open. Family dinners became an essential part of every evening.
The memories shared, the laughs laughed, the food spilled, and the love that has come from my kitchen table during the COVID-19 pandemic is something I will never forget.
While COVID-19 has made it difficult to see all the good the world has to offer, it has made me remember the importance of family dinners and kitchen tables.
--Rosie Belleman, communication specialist Marketing and Communications
When the stay-at-home order hit our area, it meant that I was working from home while trying to ensure my four children were handling NTI (Not Traditional Instruction) at the same time. My husband was considered essential and has gone into work every day!
The stay-at-home order also meant that I had an incredible amount of time at home with our two family dogs, Paul Newman (12-year-old Golden Retriever) and Willie Nelson (13-year-old yellow Lab). Those old pups LOVED having us all home. The stay-at-home order turned into a blessing as both of our beloved senior pups unexpectedly passed away in April, just a few weeks apart. It all happened so fast and was very hard for our family. I will always be thankful for the extra time we had with them, which we would not have had without COVID.
Less than a week later, we rescued a bonded pair of pups, Annie Lennox (5-year-old Westie/Jack Russell mix) and Jo-L or JoJo (5-year-old Lab/dachshund mix) to our family. We then had three full months at home with them to help them adjust to our family.
It can be hard to find blessings and moments of gratitude amongst these unprecedented times, but we managed to do so as a family.
--Kate Robbins, senior administrative assistant Pulmonary Medicine
(Pictured:) Kate Robbins with Annie and JoJo; Paul Newman (rear) and Willie Nelson.
Wendy Chouteau, DNP, APRN, with a patient Zahara Eichhorn.
I am grateful every day for our interdisciplinary neuromuscular team here at Cincinnati Children’s. With nurses, medical assistants, a dietitian, social worker, nurse practitioners and physicians, this team is wholly invested in Changing the Outcome for patients with neuromuscular disease. I’ve never worked with a more dedicated group of individuals and want to recognize them all as part of this attitude of gratitude.
--Wendy Chouteau, DNP, APRN, family nurse practitioner, Neurology/Neuromuscular
I am grateful for (and think that they deserve a shout-out) the cafeteria staff both in Rainbow and Main that clean the tables so fast, allowing us safe spaces to eat at work. It’s super hard to keep up with bussing tables, and even more so here because people eat and leave faster than they do at restaurants. I thank them for working so hard to provide this service to us.
Isaac Thorn, administrative assistant Cystic Fibrosis Center
