This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/style/tiny-modern-love-stories-coronavirus-me-looking-at-you.html
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tiny Love Stories: ‘A Picture of Me Looking at You’ | Tiny Love Stories: ‘A Picture of Me Looking at You’ |
| (25 days later) | |
| When you were 18 and I was 17, and I decided to leave high school, my grandmother asked for a picture of me for her bookshelf. She wanted a portrait to place next to the framed photos of her other grandchildren, all smiling in caps and gowns. I gave her the picture that you had taken in the field behind my house, cropped to hide my unbuttoned dress, my splotchy chest. Although our relationship didn’t last, for the next 30 years I had to look at a picture of me looking at you. — Bethany Dorau | When you were 18 and I was 17, and I decided to leave high school, my grandmother asked for a picture of me for her bookshelf. She wanted a portrait to place next to the framed photos of her other grandchildren, all smiling in caps and gowns. I gave her the picture that you had taken in the field behind my house, cropped to hide my unbuttoned dress, my splotchy chest. Although our relationship didn’t last, for the next 30 years I had to look at a picture of me looking at you. — Bethany Dorau |
| Friends and family have said, with some hesitation, that they’re glad Cathy, my wife of 33 years, did not live past November. I, too, have said I am relieved she didn’t have to endure A.L.S. during the coronavirus, with her assistants, feeding tubes and breathing machines. But on what would have been her 71st birthday this past Mother’s Day, I understood that even though I was relieved — not for her or our two children, but for me as her caregiver — I also would give anything to care for her again. — Steve Zoloth | Friends and family have said, with some hesitation, that they’re glad Cathy, my wife of 33 years, did not live past November. I, too, have said I am relieved she didn’t have to endure A.L.S. during the coronavirus, with her assistants, feeding tubes and breathing machines. But on what would have been her 71st birthday this past Mother’s Day, I understood that even though I was relieved — not for her or our two children, but for me as her caregiver — I also would give anything to care for her again. — Steve Zoloth |
| We met on a swing in Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1969. I looked at her with awe, my very own sister, as the swing swayed back and forth while my parents talked to the social worker. On the drive back home, I held Dori in my arms and fed her a baby bottle full of milk. She looked up at me with awe. Now she looks down at my 5-foot-5 frame from her stature of 5-foot-10. When we hug, her long arms envelop me and lift me off the ground. From the day we met, I have loved my big little sister. — Hillary Younglove | We met on a swing in Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1969. I looked at her with awe, my very own sister, as the swing swayed back and forth while my parents talked to the social worker. On the drive back home, I held Dori in my arms and fed her a baby bottle full of milk. She looked up at me with awe. Now she looks down at my 5-foot-5 frame from her stature of 5-foot-10. When we hug, her long arms envelop me and lift me off the ground. From the day we met, I have loved my big little sister. — Hillary Younglove |
| Updated June 5, 2020 | |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | |
| Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission. | |
| Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home. | |
| States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications. | |
| The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing. | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. | |
| I bake because she is losing things: senior year, prom, graduation, lazy days with her boyfriend, friends at the shore. I bake because I can’t make it better and I can’t say when it will stop. I bake because the sweetness of the bread, banana or pumpkin, brings her to the kitchen. I bake because momentary comfort is all my hands and heart can give her. I bake because she is young and should be free, unburdened by loss. I bake because she smiled at three weeks and never stopped, until now. I bake to see that smile again. — Beth Apone Salamon | I bake because she is losing things: senior year, prom, graduation, lazy days with her boyfriend, friends at the shore. I bake because I can’t make it better and I can’t say when it will stop. I bake because the sweetness of the bread, banana or pumpkin, brings her to the kitchen. I bake because momentary comfort is all my hands and heart can give her. I bake because she is young and should be free, unburdened by loss. I bake because she smiled at three weeks and never stopped, until now. I bake to see that smile again. — Beth Apone Salamon |
| See more Tiny Love Stories at nytimes.com/modernlove. Submit yours at nytimes.com/tinylovestories. | See more Tiny Love Stories at nytimes.com/modernlove. Submit yours at nytimes.com/tinylovestories. |
| Sign up for Love Letter to get a weekly dose of real stories that examine the highs, lows and woes of relationships. | Sign up for Love Letter to get a weekly dose of real stories that examine the highs, lows and woes of relationships. |
| Watch the trailer for the Modern Love TV show, streaming on Amazon Prime Video; listen to the Modern Love Podcast on iTunes or Google Play Music; check out the updated anthology “Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption;” follow Modern Love on Facebook. | Watch the trailer for the Modern Love TV show, streaming on Amazon Prime Video; listen to the Modern Love Podcast on iTunes or Google Play Music; check out the updated anthology “Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption;” follow Modern Love on Facebook. |