Write. In this time of uncertainty, in this world that is now changing drastically by the hour, in this new normal of WTF – write. Take out your pens and pencils, pull open a notebook, draft a new document in it’s own folder.

Or take photos. Or videos. Something. Try to take notes. Daily, if possible.

Why?

To note your world. To document this day and this time and this moment in history. This upheaval we are living through. Because if we don’t document it, will we remember it?

Write about the changes you see in the daily news, the changes you see in your world, the community that surrounds you. Write about the good things you see, giving them a memory to be held in times that feel so anxious and achy. Write about the stress of having to go to work or the stress of being laid off. Write about finding a recipe that everyone enjoyed and about watching children learn in different ways besides sitting at a desk all day.

Write about your feelings of missing someone or something that was in your daily life just a week or so ago. Write about your feelings of fear, of not knowing if anyone around you is ill and no clear answers to when we will know. Write about your feelings of loss, such as the loss of a job, the loss of community, the loss of access to the things you’re used to. Write about your feelings of grief or of depression or of anger.

And find ways to write about the hope, the love, and the sharing of good that you see and feel. Write about how the changes have made you and your family adjust. Is there less anxiety from your children over school assignments? Did you take a walk together and see the wildflowers? Have you now given your body time to actually rest instead of going from one thing to another? Do you see people offering help to others when you go to work?

Yes, it’s bizarre. It’s surreal right now. It’s almost normal but it’s not. And this is why you need to document it.

Because someone else will write the histories and her-stories of the big names, the heroes, the pieces in the news. You need to write your stories for your family, for your community, and for yourself.