It seems surreal that it was only 5 short months ago that COVID-19 hit our area, forcing us to temporarily shut our doors for 70 days, and changing our lives forever. Five months… and yet it feels like a lifetime ago that we gathered together to celebrate life in all of its joys without remembering to wear a mask, without knowing the term “social distancing”, without reaching for hand sanitizer, or struggling to find cleaning supplies. We talked and laughed, sang and hugged, learned and prayed together without fear or concern that any place we went, any trip we took, any face-to-face interaction we had could potentially become a choice of life or death for ourselves, our family members, our friends, our community. This was a moment most of us never saw coming, and those that did desperately hoped it would never occur.
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - J.R.R. Tolkien ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’
As a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend, and as an administrator, I am acutely aware of how much we all miss those earlier times; casual, laid-back, day-to-day as usual. Life was simpler, and all of the New Year’s jokes about the “Roaring ‘20s” coming back were just that… jokes. We miss movies and live music, concerts and classes, and our connection to others in a way we never expected to miss them. We feel angry, frustrated, confused, powerless, even scared, with seemingly no end in sight. We try to stay positive, informed, and understanding as we continue to navigate this new landscape of negative headlines, closures, quarantining, and cancellations. We attempt to quell our anxieties as the scientists continue to study this new, deadly intruder into our everyday existence and find new outlets for calm and self-care. The ground beneath our feet feels rocky… unbalanced… fragile… Yet, we endure and carry on.
“Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got.” - Art Buchwald
Like many other independent businesses and fellow not-for-profit organizations, we continue to face the possibility that we may yet have to close up shop, but we continue to fight the good fight and take each day as it comes. Our worry that no one would fill our seats during this pandemic has been allayed, but we still have many empty chairs awaiting patrons each day. Folks have begun to once again entrust us with their small, socially distanced celebrations, yet we cannot hold nearly the capacity of people or events that we could pre-COVID. We continue to make modifications to our inventory and procedures in an effort to close the gap between expenses and income, explore new technologies and modified best practices to bridge the obstacles the virus has put in our path in bringing people together, and continue to receive a variety of blessings (financial and otherwise) from this community that we so deeply love and care for.
“To fight the good fight is one of the bravest and noblest of life's experiences. Not the bloodshed and the battle of man with man, but the grappling with mental and spiritual adversaries that determines the inner caliber of the contestant. It is the quality of the struggle put forth by a man that proclaims to the world what manner of man he is far more than may be by the termination of the battle.” – Hugh B. Brown
We persist in our efforts to keep our staff and customers as safe and healthy as we possibly can. While we have always worked to keep Katie’s Cup clean, our staff is meeting (or, in many cases, exceeding) all CDC, Winnebago County Health Department, and the City of Rockford ‘Clean Hands, Open Doors’ guidelines when cleaning and sanitizing our entire facility. Our staff is well-versed in the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and is subject to temperature and wellness checks at each shift they work. They know to stay home and inform management if they are in question at all about their health or the health of someone in their home, and are well-trained in all “Next Steps” should anyone test positive for the virus. We continue to closely monitor what government and health officials have to say and are following all of their instructions, guidelines, and recommendations to the best of our ability.
“Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.” - Marcus Aurelius
This pandemic will end. There will be a time in the not-too-distant future when we will look back and remember the challenges this crisis has presented. We will count our blessings and take stock of the lessons we learned. We will never forget how we made it through to the “other side”. But to reach those moments of simplicity once again, we must endure through the chaos of our current situation and do our part to protect and aid each other. Let us move forward collectively during this defining moment in time and emerge stronger than ever before. We invite you to join us and make this journey together.
Katie’s Cup remains deeply committed to its mission of engagement, support, sustainability, and community building within the Midtown District, its neighborhood residents, and the Rock River Valley region. We will continue to provide a safe and welcoming space for everyone, serve those living and working within our community, and lead by example that hate has no home here.
5 months… and we continue… with endurance and patience, in gratitude and succor. We miss you. We love you. We thank you.
~ Heather Ashcraft, Administrator, Katie’s Cup coffeebar