A Dose of Color Therapy: Marigold Madewell Top
This lovely, deep turmeric, or marigold, shade is such a beautiful complement to the variety of blues in my closet. I found this top secondhand on Ebay initially, but when I saw it was from Madewell, I headed over to their site to check out sizing information. It turned out to be $20 less expensive (on final clearance) at Madewell, so I went ahead and purchased it without a second thought.
Well, that opened up the floodgates. Madewell was offering a 40% off everything sale (undoubtedly, to entice customers to buy during a time in which sales are likely under projected values) and I ended up buying a few pieces of jewelry, some tops, and a pair of sandals.
I wondered what was compelling me to take the plunge into buying from a brand that has never been high on my list when it comes to ethical standards. Part of it was a recognition that leaving Everlane behind as a primary source of wardrobe building blocks created a vacuum of options. Part of it was thinking ahead to pieces that would work in work and internship environments. And part of it, to be honest, was sheer stress shopping (the “stimulus” check and my tax refund were compelling justification). Exhausted from the world’s upheaval, I wanted to be able to buy something I actually wanted rather than overthink my purchase for once.
There are a lot of relevant judgments that could arise from this admission. But the reality is that, as I realize how complicated the system is, I also realize that my continued attempts at ethical purity even after a declaration that I wouldn’t be a purist were actually creating more confusion in myself rather than “building a better world.”
Overconsumption and unthinking consumption are dangerous. Buying from Madewell a couple times a year is, arguably, not. As someone recently commented on a post: “stop taking yourself so seriously.”
In other news, the state of Connecticut is set to open some places – like restaurants and hair salons – on May 20th (the northeast has been “ahead” of much of the country as far as the curve is concerned, so I don’t think this is premature, though I do expect some new cases will emerge as a result of decreased social distancing). I’m supposed to start my hospital chaplaincy internship on the 18th. To be honest, my excitement about being able to DO SOMETHING is far outweighing my fear of contagion at this point, but I am still trying to think through the steps I can take to stay safe and healthy. The hospital, of course, has rigorous protocols and won’t be having students or other chaplaincy staff directly interact with Covid patients, but we’ll still have to do our best to socially distance in shared office space.
If anyone has worked at a hospital before, let me know your recommendations for footwear! (Danskos do not work for me.)
That color looks fabulous on you! I love the headband too!
Thank you!
Leah,
Love the color of the shirt!!
I’m just completing 1 unit of the 8-month, part-time CPE at UVA. What a year! I’ve been stretched, fearful, awed, emboldened, privileged, nervous…every feeling that goes with this intense work.
Sadly, the interns were sent home after March 19th, so my interactions with the staff and patients ended. Curriculum, ISH (Individual Supervisory Hour), and Final Evaluations shifted to Zoom. No graduation, though my peer group and supervisor did have a short goodbye Zoom.
UVAHS asked for volunteers only from medical staff for COVID-19 patient care. Over 1,000 vounteered!! Space-wise, the COVID patients were very isolated from others.
Our resident and staff chaplains were on duty. But, the residents were allowed at the hospital only when they were scheduled for shifts and on-call. Otherwise, they had to stay home.
As for shoes…our chaplaincy director approved my running/walking shoes. Mine happen to be a gray color. Color may not matter at the VA. So, depending on the VA hospital staff dress code, you may have latitude to wear such. UVAHS is huge and I easily walked a mile or two every day I was there.
Sending prayer for your journey this summer. Expect God to be everywhere!
Blessings, Betsy
That’s so wonderful! I didn’t know you were doing that. The hospital I’ll be at has Covid patients on a separate floor and students will not be visiting them. Thank you for the shoe insider knowledge and your prayers. Miss you!
And my college roommate is a hospital chaplain north of Boston. She, also, does not have contact with COVID patients, and she says there hasn’t been much to do because only people who are really sick are coming in, and their families can’t visit. So I hope the opening in CT also means the start of elective surgeries, as is happening in some parts of New York so you will have a full internship experience.
Thank you! I’ll be at a Veteran’s Affairs hospital so they might be operating a little differently in regard to accepting patients for elective surgeries and other procedures. I’m looking forward to it.
Oh, I normally don’t like that color when I see it on the rack, but it looks really good on you!