Stay Home

These two ladies have been on my mind lately, they are my maternal great grandmother Francisca and my paternal great grandmother Maria. I have been thinking of them because of their strength, determination and courage. You see they both became very young widows,a mere week of each other. Both their husbands died because of the spanish fever (The 1918-1920 influenza pandemic). They each had one small child and were both pregnant at the time. My maternal grandfather was one when his father died, and my paternal grandmother never met her father. I do not know how these women coped. I think of all the conditions in which they were living in at the time, and I am always in awe of their resilience. Fast forward to 2020, global pandemic Covid 19, and all that is being asked of me (all of us) is to stay put in the comfort of our homes! With running water, electricity, heating, bathrooms, food in our cupboards, and the knowledge and information that this is what has to be done! Let's honour and respect all the sacrifices and hardships of all the generations that came before us. Let's not be selfish, this is not about you or me it's about us.

These are their husbands:

My great grandfathers, who both died because of the spanish fever.

My maternal avô Candido's father Manuel, died December 19th 1918.
My paternal avó Arminda's father Francisco , died December 27th 1918.


**as of today there are 24 cases of coronavirus in the Azores