In my ongoing efforts to think positively and not get pulled down to the depths with the current state of affairs, I tried some strategic things today. One, I started my day with my 10 sun salutations and no media afterward for 45 minutes. This was day #2 and I think this might be the ticket for me....starting out the day without being bombarded first thing. Much better foundation for the day.
Then I had my latte, and then I did a yoga class online. Again, that was a pretty good centering thing for me and was better than doing it late in the day I think. It fortified me and gave me strength.
The kids and I took the dog on a walk, and I enjoyed the outdoors for a brief time, and also enjoyed the heart warming signs of togetherness I saw. I know that this is an incredibly isolating time for many people who might live alone, and my heart breaks for everyone that feels that way right now. For other people it's a frustrating time because you are now forced to spend SO much time together in a confined space with little to do, BUT on the flip side, it also gives people the time and bandwidth to connect. I saw, on a Thursday mid-morning mind you, a family taking a walk together, and I saw parents engaged in activities with their kids that ordinarily might take back seat because of time constraints (or jobs of course). Don't get me wrong, I want job back, but all we can do is enjoy what we do have.
Everyone I saw was keeping a very safe distance from other people, there weren't the groups of young people that I've heard rumor of (although I'm sure that's happening somewhere near me). What I saw was just a sense of timelessness that really only comes with a shut down like this where there are simply less options, less things to do. There are no restaurants. There are no stores to go to. There are only so many groceries you can buy. We're all getting our fill of screen time, and there are still a lot of hours in the day to do meandering and unrushed things. I can't honestly remember the last time I walked the dog with absolutely no agenda afterwards, or set things I have to do. Romeo and I do it daily, but usually it's after I pick him up from school, and before I pick up his sisters where we have a tight little window of about 35 minutes. Today we strolled along, me trying to stump him with spelling words, and him content to prep for the imaginary spelling bee. I did this in attempts to outweigh hours of Fortnite video games by the way
Anyway, I guess my point is that as much as this entire situation is beyond scary in every way (and unwanted in every way), all we can do is take one day at a time, and find beauty in the simple things that ARE happening. I might not have a store operating right now and all the stresses of that can stack up nice and tall, but what we do have are wonderful emails from friends and customers, little notes, or even just seeing a name of someone we know and love on a web order makes us happy. It's not about anything more than being happy for what we have, and the wonderful people we know and the time we get with the people we love.
Plus, I will also just note that Ava & Lucia have been in sister-fighting mode for months. It's been bad. They fight over clothes, over friends. Pretty much anything (this is the problem with same sex siblings too close in age). Anyway, the silver lining of this quarantine is that they are so, SO, so bored that they are starting to talk and laugh together again. Desperate for friend time, they are learning to be friends again. Silver linings.
Signed, ME {lv}
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