In this reflective narrative I share my experience as a contingent faculty member, woman of color, and mother, working, and parenting through a global pandemic and social uprising. I utilize testimonio (Delgado Bernal et al., 2012) as a methodological tool to make visible the labor I engage in and the collective experience between contingent faculty of color and first-generation, Black, Indigenous, and Students of Color. Central to my narrative is a description of the physical, mental, and emotional impact of the pandemic for those of us who occupy spaces of tension and uncertainty: individuals with years of training and specialized knowledge who are undervalued and easily discarded by the institution; caring educators who keep students in college while we are pushed out; dedicated workers teaching in wealthy universities whose low wages maintain their status below the poverty line. In this testimonio, I describe three themes that elucidate my experience teaching through a pandemic as a Chicana lecturer, including (1) invisible and emotional labor and isolation; (2) grief, loss, and sustained mourning and (3) collective care. In the tradition of testimonios, I end with a final reflection and call to action.