.316 | to my personal Anthony Fauci, from Madison

On March 12, 2020, my mom booked me a flight leaving JFK that same night. After her shipments of hand sanitizer, vitamin C supplements and an old N95 from the 2006 California wildfires, she told me "it's time" and made sure that I could safely be with family for the days... then weeks... then months to come.

For the last year, my mom was my family's own personal Anthony Fauci. She kept us updated on every CDC alert within seconds of it hitting the press. She went on late night deep dives into epidemiology Twitter threads and tracked ICU bed counts across the city. My mom washed and wiped every grocery item, made sure there was always a clean mask available, and organized every Zoom birthday party. Even when pandemic burnout was at an all-time high, she never wavered in her commitment to keeping loved ones safe and healthy.

Thank you for caring for me, Mom. Thank you for caring for the whole family and our community. And thank you for caring for yourself even in the toughest of moments.