If you are anything like me, you didn’t think this whole COVID-19 was going to take over the way it did. I was definitely one of those peeps who kept saying and thinking that this would blow over in a week or so. I was so WRONG!
It has now been almost 2 months since I started working at home and I am still in disbelief. Everything changed so abruptly and it literally happened overnight. One day my daughter was in school and the next we were picking up a Chromebook for her to do remote learning. One day I was at work and the next was told to stay home until further notice.
These past few months have been a rollercoaster ride. We had to start wearing masks, hand sanitizing repeatedly, wearing gloves, and even spraying alcohol when coming back into the house. Let’s not forget the mental effects this virus has had on just about everyone! I have had days where my emotions, feelings, and thoughts have caused me to have mini meltdowns. This coming from someone who didn’t take this seriously at all at first.
This virus hit a little to close to home though. At the end of March, my mother tested positive for the virus and was extremely ill. It was super scary and it was even worse because I couldn’t be by her side like I would have wanted. I had to rely on phone calls to my dad and hoping he was being honest. My sister and I would take turns checking in with them throughout the day. Once my mom started getting better, my dad began to feel sick. Fortunately, by the grace of God, he tested negative for the virus and actually felt better in about a week. Sadly, it doesn’t end there. Several of my aunts and uncles also tested positive and are still healing slowly.
This, however, is not the case for all of them. One of my uncles is still in the hospital and it has been a long 3 weeks. We have been praying for him and checking in with him every day but it is extremely difficult. We are fortunate enough to have a close family friend that works at the hospital stop in during her shift each day just so we can say hello.
I can imagine that a lot of the world has experienced an incline in so many stressors and it has truly affected our mental health. However, it has also made us open our eyes and look back at moments we may not have appreciated as much. I know for me, it’s small things such as merely stopping by my mom’s place and hanging out with the kids for an hour or even our small birthday gatherings where we could sing Happy Birthday and cut a cake. It’s these small things that I truly miss. FaceTime calls have definitely become more frequent.
I write this in hope to offer some comfort to others experiencing these same or similar things. Know that you are not alone. We are in this together. Please take some of this time to distract yourself from all the negativity that is being put out.
Find some time to turn off your television, log off of social media, and just enjoy some fresh air and some sun. One thing they haven’t banned us from doing is going for a walk (of course being safe). So go out and enjoy it! I know this works for me; it is a way to recharge.
Some other suggestions: use this time to boost your self-care, pick up a hobby, or even teach your kid(s) something new (bike riding is on our list here). Self-care was at the bottom of my priority list which is NO BUENO (not good). It took me so many weeks before I finally made time to workout again and write some blog posts. I even used a face mask a few times. Go Me!
Let us take these tough times and use it to rebuild ourselves. This way once the world opens up again, we will be ready to conquer it.
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