The last few weeks have been completely wild. So quickly this pandemic swiped the world and shut down so many aspects of normalcy. For someone like me who has been going at 110 mph for the last few years it honestly came as a bit of a relief at first. A “forced” moment to take a break. My soul was desperately needing one. My body was beyond fatigued. I spent the first week enjoying the slower pace. The time at home with my children doing any and everything that they could imagine. We made marvelous meals, we played games, created projects, did schoolwork, ate lots of cake and ice cream 🙂 and then the second week went by. And I began to start feeling differently. Brene Brown described it well in her podcast  Unlocking Us. She said that when there is a crisis, we all rush in, we go and have adrenaline, and we are able to push through. Similar to when someone’s loved one passes away and the grieving individual just makes it to the funeral. And its the after-the-funeral when things really start to get hard. Where the healing, the slowing, the processing begins. Because we are in a marathon right now, it is not a sprint. 

This pandemic has been frightening to say the least. I am the mother to an immuno-compromised child, so my worries and fears are always there, but now they are heightened. I read a wonderful article that discussed how we are currently experiencing various stages of grief in our culture. I stewed over that for a few days. I had wondered why I was feeling more fatigued than normal, yet having less things on my agenda. I slowly began to understand why. We are collectively going through grief. Albeit at various stages. But grief comes and goes in stages. And it leads to being weary. 

I recently listened to Glennon Doyle talk about about a chapter in her book, Untamed, about how we are all running around day to day with work or school and how we are akin to a snowglobe that is constantly being shaken. We never stop to let the particles settle. She discussed how it is going to get really hard with a lot of people because now due to this pandemic, we are all being forced to let the particles settle. We are being forced to stay home. She discussed how unnerving that might be for many people. How it could get really hard because they will be faced to look at their life, to really think about it, and to not busy themselves enough to not have to face their truths. In that video she mentioned “We Can Do Hard Things”. We can allow this time to reflect, to take a good look at ourselves, and to work on ourselves. It reminded me of a sign that I made years ago with that very same sentiment.  I was inspired to dig it out of storage and to hang it up on my wall. As a daily reminder. 

 

When you take away so much of the world…what is left? The human beings around you. And that is what we are focusing on during this time. It is during this time that we need to be gentle with ourselves…and gentle with our children. Not only did our entire lives get turned upside down, theirs did as well. Take it one day at a time. Take a moment each day for yourself. Work on a project you’ve been thinking about starting. Make a new recipe. Take a nap. Go for a walk and let the sunshine hit your face. 

Please be careful to find a few news outlets that you trust and do not overwhelm yourself with all the information. Take in what you can, but stop when you’ve reached your limit. We will get through this. And remember….WE CAN DO HARD THINGS! 

 

 

 

 

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