Last night I spent a while texting with my younger sister, who is an ER nurse on the front lines of this outbreak. There’s no doubt that I’ve been worried about her and her husband since the news of the virus hit the airwaves. I’ve always admired her for the work that she does – for work that I could never do. She’s so much stronger than I am in that way. And she and her husband are just two people of thousands of essential workers in our world who are quite literally putting their lives on the line so my family can be taken care of.
Yes, I said it.
These essential workers are putting their lives at risk every single day, sacrificing time with their own families, and putting their own immune systems on the line just so my family can be taken care of.
We’re now coming up on the end of the third week of our quarantine. Maryland’s Governor has been actively doing everything he can to put protective orders in place to keep us safe. Non-essential businesses have closed down, schools have closed, and gatherings have been banned. And since we’ve been locked up in our houses our family is playing a very small role by trying to stop the spread of the virus by doing everything we can to follow those orders and suggestions. But I’ll be honest – I’ve really been struggling with what I can do to help people like my sister and brother in law who leave their daughter every day to serve the sickest of sick. And while the first responders and medical community are certainly one of the most directly affected groups of workers, I think it’s safe to say the outbreak has affected all workers. My husband, who works for a power company, is also “essential” and leaves for work every day. My youngest brother is currently stationed in Iraq, where the viral outbreak is strong and the area is war-torn. But there are also huge numbers of people who are home right now, not only watching the virus spread but who are also worried about where their next paycheck will come from. My heart aches for all of us.
That being said, I fully believe that we are resilient and we will come out of this having learned some serious lessons that will change our future, and our children’s future for the better. Our businesses will open back up again and life as we knew it would be changed, but back to finding its new normal.
In this spirit, and hoping to encourage others to do what they reasonably can too, I’m offering one-for-one local portrait sessions to be booked between now and May 1st. If you’ve been appreciating your family like I have lately and feel able to invest in a portrait session (to be used once this quarantine time has passed), please show your support for both our small businesses AND our essential workers.
I know this will eventually pass and we will be gathered together again. Until then, in this time of grief and fear, please keep cheering each other on. Your love and resilience are powerful.
BETWEEN NOW AND THE 1ST OF MAY, WHEN YOU PURCHASE A PORTRAIT SESSION, THE ESSENTIAL FRONT LINE WORKER OF YOUR CHOICE WILL RECEIVE THEIR VERY OWN PORTRAIT SESSION – COMPLIMENTARY.
If you’re not in a position to invest in a session at the moment but would love to be a part of giving back, please fill out the contact form on my website to nominate an essential worker that you’d like to see receive a complimentary photo session. We’ll also be happy to set up a payment plan for your future portrait session to accommodate your needs. Once your payment plan has been complete, both families (yours and your nomination) can redeem their family sessions!
**All photo sessions will take place (of course!) AFTER physical social distancing guidelines have been lifted and our lives return to some sort of normalcy. Sessions must be used within 1 year from the date that social distancing guidelines are no longer in place.**
*If you are a photographer who is interested in participating please visit https://anastasiaphotography.ca/whistler-family-photography to get all of the information.
SESSIONS ARE $450 AND INCLUDE ALL HIGH-RESOLUTION FILES AND AN UNLIMITED PRINT RELEASE!
Fine Print: The nomination sessions can only be gifted to an employed front line worker during the COVID-19 pandemic (which will be verified), the sessions are up to 1.5 hours of coverage. I’m more than happy to travel to you or your essential worker’s location for a travel fee of $0.60 per mile outside of Southern Maryland! Sessions come with ALL high-resolution files of the photographer’s choosing. Sessions must be used within 1 year from the date that social distancing guidelines are no longer in place in DC, MD, and VA, or you will forfeit all monies paid.
