Baby Mooger

Little friend :) 

I was working as a contact tracer during the pandemic. I was in a supervisor position, so I'd be on calls with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), who would relay to us what the CDC's current guidance was. And when the 5 Day Isolation thing came out, all of us asked "but is it safe? Is there any guidance that suggests people are less likely to infect others?" Their answer was "no, but businesses need workers, and this is about people getting back to work faster."

We have to stock ourselves with good things before we are able to give them away, and if we are too exhausted to make bread, we must rest before we can make it to serve our friends. If we are too hungry to serve, we must eat some bread ourselves first.

It's a metaphor for emotional exhaustion. When we wear ourselves down it makes it difficult or impossible to help the people around us, and all the effort and good intentions in the world can't make up for the fact that our vessels are empty. It's hard to not want to serve when our friends are in trouble, but trying to serve from an empty vessel often leaves both of you floundering.