Dear Affordable Chic Friends,  

While I write this, most of us are probably doing the same thing: staying home and away from each other. Some of us are trying to hold on to our businesses and jobs while full-time parenting with no babysitter. We are sheltering in place with our minds filled with questions ~ Am I going to lose what I built so far? What will be the impact of social distance on my children right when they should be learning about life and sharing the world with others? What about their education? How can I help them while working? 

When the torment started in my head at the beginning, I realized it is similar to my fear of flying. During flights, I feel very uncomfortable and panicked by turbulence. Then finally everything stops shaking and I see the security belt light turned off. The captain announces it is now safe to get up and move about the cabin. I begin to relax and await a safe landing ahead. 

The goal of the trip - the safe landing “there.” COVID-19 has taken over our world, but we will eventually have a landing. “There” will be a place where many of us have to rebuild or restore what we lost. “There” will be a place with a scar to heal. “There” will be a place where children slowly will start to run and giggle. “There” will be a new way to see each other and share a deeper love for each other. 

I am making sure my girls are aware of what is happening without fear. Right now we are living through a chapter of history that our children will remember forever. My girls will remember holding their dolls while looking out of the window and seeing Broadway with no people and no lights. They will remember what they felt inside, but they will also remember the warmth of their parents' presence right behind them. They will remember what they had to give up in order to protect their grandparents and their community. Some children will remember their parents working at the dining table trying to save their jobs while they were playing. Some will remember the moment they heard their parents saying, “I did not get a paycheck”. Others will remember the worried faces of their parents while walking out because no matter what, they had to go to work. We all try to find the best education for our children, yet at this moment in history, our children are learning so many valuable lessons inside our homes and just from looking out of their windows. 

In different ways, we all are sharing the same fear, the same problem, and the same solution. COVID-19 has put all of us on the same side of a battle as never before in our lifetime. Courage comes out of fear. That is why we will be ok and get “there” together. “There” will be a place of victory and we will be stronger than before. We are seeing that as women, we can be a full-time everything when life calls on us to do so, as it is right now. Any doubts we had about our capacity to rise to challenges was due to outside pressure. Now, Mother Nature has hit the pause button on our outside and in some senses, she is giving us a break. These days are allowing us little by little to understand that we can do anything we actually need to do. I hope many of you are seeing the silver lining in this situation.

I know this is not a usual Affordable Chic newsletter. Affordable Chic’s vision is a world where women can put themselves first and still meet the needs of their families. We know how hard all of you have been working to hold your families together through this frightening health crisis. Affordable Chic is not an essential business, but we are a business made for you. “Affordable” is a word that our community will use often after the pandemic ends. Our customers are smart women who have sound financial values that will be needed to rebuild what COVID-19 destroyed. Affordable Chic always wanted to change the connotation of the word “Affordable.” Affordable is not cheap, rather it is just right and directly proportional to the window that our children are looking out of right now. So prepare yourself for the moment when we land and the doors are opened. “There” we will understand that during this unsettling painful time, we all grew together while apart, and together we are able to restart again. 

We thank you for your support and send each of you a warm and uplifting virtual hug. 

Love, 

Marialuisa Garito, CEO and the Affordable Chic Team