The world has been on fire for two years, and now a new blaze has erupted. The desire to just quit doing anything strikes because it’s not just teen angst that says none of it matters anymore. I get it. I get that feeling like nothing will change, the end is nigh, and why even bother.

What you do, every day, still matters.

Whether it’s getting out of bed and going to work, doing laundry, taking a day off and finding a way to enjoy yourself, it’s all important. It doesn’t stop being a part of life until you don’t have a life, and you owe it to yourself to use every minute you have.

I’m not sure how many readers were already adults when 9/11 happened, but I was. I was in my mid 20’s at the time. Fear settled into my life like an icy shadow and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t crippling. I’d never faced the US being attacked. Even though I grew up in the last years of the Cold War, the idea that a nuclear war could break out was never quite a real threat. I was facing circumstances beyond my control and well-outside any experience I’d ever had.

I got through that time trying to keep things stable for my children. We got up at the same time, had breakfast, got ready for school, and I sent them off with a smile – hiding the fact that I was terrified something awful would happen and I’d never see them again.

I struggled through work and my own classes, but found a strange refuge in the demands each placed on me. If I focused on what I was doing, the fear didn’t have such a hold on me.

Now, we fight this pandemic everyone says is getting better despite hospitals still being overwhelmed and we watch what may be the start of WW3.

I get up in the morning. I walk the dog. I have my meals. I shower. I clean my home. I go to work. I keep writing.

Why? Because these are the things that need to be done. The future is looking extra bleak, and who knows how much longer we have. We may have today, but we may have another hundred years. One thing is certain:

We have today.

Don’t waste it. Take care of yourself. Meet your commitments and responsibilities. It still matters.