Grateful for “Normal”
By Keech Combe Shetty
Board Chair, Personal Care Products Council, and
Executive Chair, Combe, Inc.
It’s hard to believe we are in our second year of a pandemic. Millions of people have been directly affected by COVID-19 with too many lives tragically lost. Many of us have been unable to spend time in person with our family and friends, denying us valuable connections we all crave. Some of us have struggled through working from home while supporting our kids as they navigated online learning. Others have jobs that required them to continue to show up in person, creating a new set of challenges.
As Thanksgiving approaches, it feels like the right time to embrace and be grateful for our new “normal,” for a brighter future. Many of us will finally be together again with our loved ones, instead of through a screen. While COVID is still with us, and we have a long way to go before we can move past this pandemic, we’ve come a long way and it feels good!
As an industry, we have much to be thankful for. We’re extremely grateful to the front-line workers, medical professionals, nonprofit and relief organizations that have continued to help those who have struggled over the past year. We’re grateful to all cosmetics and personal care product employees for their loyalty, dedication and hard work that has kept our companies running. And we are incredibly thankful to our valuable consumers for continuing to trust our products to safely enhance their wellbeing.
Author William Arthur Ward said, “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” We can all look for ways to be grateful in our daily lives. To find joy in ordinary routines.
On behalf of PCPC and our member companies, I thank you and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you can take some time to celebrate the common days in your life, thank those around you who made a difference over the past year and a half, and make plans for a happy and healthy holiday season ahead. I believe many good opportunities are in our future.
