We all know the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” It’s supposed to inspire optimism in the face of adversity and get us to make the most of a bad situation. I, for one, have never liked this saying. What about the sugar? The water? Who is going to be squeezing all of those lemons? As a person with extensive childhood lemonade stand experience, I can tell you that making lemonade isn’t that easy. Unless you add strength, creativity and collaboration, lemons are just plain sour.
We can all agree that this pandemic qualifies as a “lemon.” Life in the time of COVID-19 is challenging, unpleasant and stressful. In quarantine, it’s easy to become fully self-involved, focused on our next small source of gratification — watching a TV show, baking cookies, doing a virtual yoga class. Yet even today, there are many people dedicated to looking beyond themselves and helping those who are struggling. That’s why the theme for this edition of Mirror is “Give Back.”
In this week’s issue, we highlight those who are working behind the scenes, making the lemonade — whether that’s students supporting parents in the medical field or helping a local business stay afloat. We hope that these stories inspire you to join the effort, so that soon, when all this is over, we can sip a cool glass together, knowing we all had a hand in making things better.
