How are you all doing? It is about the eighth week in quarantine and the fourth week of hardcore remote learning. To say that things aren’t going well, would be an understatement. I am struggling, and I know I can’t be alone in this feeling.
At the moment, I do not know when I will be returning to work, which is the harsh reality many of us are facing. My husband is still working on the frontlines. Actually, his schedule has intensified since he works in a medical rehabilitation facility. So while he is out there trying to limit his risk of catching the virus, I am at home holding down the fort with Caleb & Joshua.
Many of you may not know my story, but I have been a stay-at-home Mom before. When the boys were young, I stayed home with them as long as I could for their formative years. I returned to work when Joshua was about 3 years old. For me staying home isn’t a problem. Dealing with the boys isn’t the problem. The issue is the fear of the unknown. The inability to plan for the future, as we don’t know when we will return to a “normal” life. The fact may be what we once considered normal will be thrown out the window. These are the things that make me sad and sends my anxiety through the roof.
To cope during this time, I have found myself being way more lenient with EVERYTHING. But mostly with parenting. Do you want to eat crackers for breakfast? Go ahead. Eating more snacks than usual? That’s fine. Sleeping until 10 AM? Cool. Like I have been giving myself and the kids so much grace during this time, it’s astonishing as I just typed it out. It is hard being the “teacher” and the parent around the clock. And they test my limits. But I try to remember that this is all different for them as well.
I have lost the luxury of my self-care outings. I miss the nail salon, my eyebrow threading lady, and the spa. Self-care has now become deep cleaning the house weekly. Laying in my room alone in the darkness. Wine, it also looks like lots of wine. What is your self-care routine in isolation?
I know that for the next few weeks, I’m going to have to try and get a schedule going to create some normalcy. We all need to go back to set alarms so that we can wake up at the same time every day. I also know that changing out of my house clothes into maybe some elevated loungewear will be a good mood booster for me. I got dressed, took my hair down, and applied makeup for the first time in weeks to appear on IG Live last weekend and I felt good. (See the replay below.) My next online shopping excursion will involve cute loungewear pieces, that can also double for taking walks and riding bikes around the neighborhood.
I would love to hear how you all are coping. What is your new daily schedule? How are you handling meal planning? What new things have you learned about your kids since being around them in quarantine? Please join me as I host a virtual “Parenting in the Pandemic” discussion this Saturday at 1:00 with two chic moms! Our special guests will be Shaquana of Quana’s Quorner Podcast and Natasha G. of NaturallyTashaG.Com. We will touch on all this and more. Grab a drink and come prepared to ask questions, and share your experiences with us as we navigate this new normal. See you there.
Taking it one day at a time…. with prayers and wine! Can’t wait for the IG live discussion!
Author
Wine, we are all on that boat. Thanks for reading!
We stopped checking homework around here, it’s now more like “did you finish your homework? yes, great! Ok go over it again, then you can submit it”
Have also been more lenient with what they eat, eating snacks now about every hour.
God will see us through!
Author
LOL at stopped checking homework, not sure I can let these two have that privilege 🧐. Thanks for reading!