So very, very sad. I have extended family in NYC and they are struggling with this lockup. For them it is not financial as much as mental health.
Saying a little prayer for them.
During the pandemic, my daughter kept a journal and sent it out to her family and friends everyday. It’s a description of daily life in NYC during the pandemic (very different from the NYC that most of us know from pleasure trips!). But she also has written down her thoughts about faith in God and how He helps us through such hard times.
Some of the journal is practical–various recipes that she came up with using whatever was in her cupboard, as she only shopped once a week at her usual store, and had to carry home anything she bought–so she didn’t buy much! She is a stage manager and was used to going out to eat more often than eating in–that sure changed.
One of the recipes involved her version of Sangria. She and her boyfriend were used to going to certain restaurant once a week and ordering food along with Sangria. For several weeks, they ordered take out from the restaurant, including the Sangria–but the food and drinks kind of lost something without the restaurant’s charming ambiance, and it was expensive!
So they cooked up their own feast, and she made Sangria but added something (I don’t drink Sangria so I can’t remember what she wrote down)–both she and her boyfriend thought her version was the best they’ve ever had!
She wrote so many wonderful things down; e.g., once a week, she would go door to door in her apartment building (a couple of dozen units, very tiny one room apartments with an assortment of people) and knock on the door to make sure that her neighbors were all OK. Then she started making cupcakes and bringing them to her neighbors–there was one family with several children (yes, living in a one room apt!) and they were so happy to get the sweet treats!
She wrote about what it felt like not to be working–she did have work, as she taught at a university in the city and did it all online. She wrote about what it was like to not be able to attend church (Mass), but she finally realized that she could stand outside the church and meditate on the beautiful sculpture of Our Lady outside the church doors.
I keep telling her that someday, she should try to get this published–almost every entry has a prayer, a Bible passage, a thought to meditate upon, etc. --all against the backdrop of this awful pandemic.
She moved out of NYC a few weeks ago. She was offered a job in a Midwestern city close to her sister and brother-in-law. So far, she loves it–she loves being able to see the sky, and she’s already made friends in her church, which IS open for Mass (with various precautions like masks and social distancing in the nave).
I am so glad your daughter was able to fill her mind up with some positive thought and do some very positive things. I don’t think people realize how tough it is to live in city such as New York which is so vibriant but now whose streets are so vacant. They have been locked in for a very long time.