When I grew up, if we knew of anyone who was going through a life transition, we took a casserole over to their house. We took casseroles to people who were sick, who had a relative that died, had a surgical procedure or when someone had a baby. It was our way of showing support for people in our community. It was how we showed people that we cared about them, and that they could count on us when it mattered. We were a part of their “casserole community.”

For those of you who don’t know, I contracted COVID-19 over the Christmas holidays. It was a brutal 3 weeks. At 10:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, I was having trouble breathing and decided to call 9-1-1. I sat down on the bed to rest for a minute until I could gather enough strength to go get my cell phone, and the next thing I knew, it was 5:30 in the morning. All the lights were on, and I had made it through the night. I had turned a corner.

At one point, I was feeling particularly sorry for myself for being sick over the Christmas break, and my girlfriend texted me to see if I was okay. I texted back that I was getting better, and that I appreciated her checking in. She offered to send me groceries on Instacart. She was not the only one. My friends and neighbors showed up (virtually) in droves to send food, to check in, to offer moral support. My self-pity turned into gratitude for my “Casserole/Instacart” Community.

Here is the deal, people: we are in the middle of a global pandemic. We need each other. So, ask yourself this question: who is in your casserole community? Whose casserole community are you a part of? Who can you count on when you need help/support? Who can count on you? Even in the best of times, we all need a community, and these are definitely not the best of times for many people. However, being there for each other can make it infinitely more bearable.

Power thought: Think about who needs you to order them some groceries on Instacart. Or think about two people that you need to check in on today. You never know if you will make someone’s day with a small gesture of kindness and caring.