What I Learned Opening a Business at the Height of the Pandemic

I’m a heckuva lot tougher than I knew.

Photo credit from another local, woman-owned small business owner, Adeline Artistry Studio.

It was June 2020 in New York City. In the months prior, perched on my balcony in western Queens, I spent sunsets clapping a chorus of thanks to essential workers, and nights awake listening to the blare of siren after siren, wailing deep into the dawn.