It has been a crazy time. I have worked in a grocery store for the last 18 years and have never seen people in pure panic mode. As a building, we sold out of everything from Chicken to Toliet Paper in a matter of a day. One of the first days of panic buying, I spent the entire day checking people out and never went past the front of the building until after we closed. When I walked out on the floor that night, it was like we went out of business, and we’re left with one empty shelf after the next. It was crazy for two weeks. By the end of the two weeks, I felt so run down, but also so fulfilled at the same time. I was there to help people get the things they needed.

During this time, I concluded that under stress and pressure, people in my community are kind and courteous. Almost daily, I have gotten a thank you for being open and coming into work, risking getting sick. I hope when this is all over, people remember this time and continue to slow down and be kind to each other. If you talked to me before this, I would say that over 60% of people are rude and impatient and it was only ever about them, but know I would say only about 10% act this way. I live in Lexington, Kentucky, and I am proud of my community for all the love and support they have shown health care workers, small businesses, and the stores that are considered essential. Working in Retail, we have never trained for this, but we do it.