April 3, 2020. My third blog post in the Coronatimes.

I’ve had my purse stolen twice in my life. The first time was out of the car while I ran into the daycare to pick up my kids. That one I consider my fault because I didn’t lock the car. The second time convinced me to never carry a purse again. I was parked at an outdoor event and someone purposely smashed my back window, went through my car, and took my purse that was hidden.

In this last instance, luckily I was carrying my phone and my driver’s license, debit card, and credit card in the case. In order to be on the lookout for my “more than likely” discarded purse, the police asked me to describe and/or list the items in it. For the life of me, I couldn’t give them much information other than my spare glasses and sunglasses.

I was never much of a purse person, but this was a big purse. Not teenage bag size, but a biggish purse and it was full. Of something. Of a lot of stuff. Of which I could not recall. I was carrying this heavy bag of unknown paraphernalia everywhere and I began wondering how much time and energy through the years I had spent looking for my purse, looking for something in my purse, or worse; how dragging the damn thing around had affected me in general. All I really needed on a daily basis were things I carried in my phone case. It’s been four years since I put my purse down and have never looked back.

Has anyone ever told you to “put your purse down” and get on with it? Well, while this person is probably busting your balls, for lack of a better phrase, they are actually telling you to release yourself of the baggage of worry, indecision, or hesitancy to act and to just get on with it. They may be hinting that you are making the situation more about yourself. So I believe that this such language is needed in these Coronatimes.

When someone is paralyzed by fear, I say “Put your purse down, follow the rules and guidelines, and don’t worry what might happen”. If someone is freaking out over the myriad of mixed messages that bombard us, I say “Put your purse down and turn off the TV”. If someone feels inconvenienced in some way, I totally say “Put your purse down, get over yourself and donate talent, time, and money”. WHEN I see people congregating in groups, I think “Put your purse down and be part of the solution, not the problem”.

The only thing we can do is control the controllable. I don’t want my purse stolen, so I don’t carry one. People don’t want to get sick, so do and don’t do the things laid out to us. There are many people working and doing what they can to support those around them – healthy and unhealthy. And then there are those that have actually found themselves with the virus. To all of these people, I say “Put your purse down over here and I’ll keep an eye on it for you”. In these crazy times there is no need for them to be carrying that baggage around when I can bear it for them.

Keep staying safe out there. Be nice. Be patient. And most of all, Practice Empathy.

LLM