Hi friends, how are you doing? What? The same as me? Just meh! Yeah, that's a pretty silly question to ask most people around the world these days. Most answers that I get to that question are:
Hangin' in there
I've been better
Ya know...
Going out of my mind!
This time has no doubt put a damper on things-unless, of course, you're a hermit by nature and just love that you now get permission to stay at home. For the rest of us though, it's been difficult to deal with our new norm. My friend and I have been talking daily on Marco Polo (such a God-send for this time. If you're not on that app-definitely sign up!) When this all started and her and I were really struggling, she told me "Business as usual, right?". We both agreed that it will help us to try to stick to the mentality that just because our circumstances have changed, doesn't mean that our attitude needs to.
I feel like it's important to keep to as much of a routine as we can, just making sure to follow the guidelines that our state has given us. So what does that look like? For me, it means that I had to close my studio temporarily and reschedule any photo sessions that I had scheduled through the end of April (maybe beyond), and then just like everyone else, I need to be more cautious about keeping at least 6 feet away from others and sanitizing things I touch outside of my home. Recently the county has suggested that we also wear a mask when going out for essential things. I scored yesterday when I found a 3-pack of the N95 masks in my cabinet! But beyond that, why can't I just stick to business as usual? So what does that look like?
For me, it means getting up and doing my morning routine as usual (massage, coffee, daily readings, devos, etc). Before injuring my knee I would've then gone to the gym. Since my Dr cleared me to due low-impact exercise now, I am slowly trying to get back into exercise. Taking a walk in this beautiful weather is even more important now. Vitamin D helps the mind and body; which we need more help in these days. I've also got some very cool options to exercise online with trainers who are doing live Zoom meetings, and Facebook or Instagram (Zumba, HIIT, pilates, etc) . But maybe you do not have a gym membership-there's tons of exercise videos on YouTube! The rest of my day can be filled with editing (although I'm quickly running out of things to edit), exploring business ideas/education, blogging, etc. My house also still needs to be cleaned and laundry needs to be done. Then, some binge TV watching at night is totally business as usual. Well, I have been watching some things that I wouldn't normally give the time of day to. Can anyone say Joe Exotic without shaking their head?!
Well, we do not have kids; which I think would add to my tasks for the day, so I have found that I need to add some things to my day to make up for the lack of work coming in. I've never been a huge fan of puzzles because I just don't have much patience for it. These days I seem to have some extra time on my hands that puzzles seem to fill up. It took over a week for me to finish my first puzzle and I'm finding that it's a nice brain break for me. Well, the new puzzle I just started is actually hurting my brain right now-so I might move on to the donut puzzle I borrowed from a friend. I've also been able to help out some friends who can't leave their homes and shop for them and deliver their groceries to their porch. My friend donned me the "Porch Fairy" which has somewhat caught on to others. This isn't something that comes easy to me as I am not someone who likes shopping on normal days-but it's something that blesses me to focus on others instead of myself.
So what exactly am I getting at with this blog post? Sure, we are all going through the same thing right now-although we all handle it differently. Some people are still working, some have kids, some of us are alone a lot more than usual, but we don't have to throw in the towel and wallow in misery. Our day is what we make of it. Our lives are how we react to what comes our way. Our current reality is that we have to wait in line to get into grocery stores, toilet paper is now the unicorn of the world, and we all miss human contact. But if we take the focus off of what we can't do, and focus on what we can do and the blessings around us, our attitude will be so much better. I get it-this is freakin' hard! I border on anxiety or depression in normal circumstances, and this added stress and isolation brings it out even more so. But I just took my coffee and went outside and sat in the sun for 20 minutes and it's amazing what that little step did for me emotionally. It motivated me to get on here and write out this blog post that I have been putting off for days! What can a little bit of sunshine do for you?
During this time we can make the world a little better by choosing to spread joy instead of panic, show grace instead of impatience, forgiveness instead of attacking, and spend more time with our loved ones (phone calls and video chats are an amazing way to connect right now). Please feel to reach out to me even if you just want to chat. I can't promise you that I won't be in pajamas at 4 PM if you hit me up on Marco Polo, but I will say that I can listen and be there for you. And sometimes that's all we need. We are all going through hard stuff right now so I'm finding that we all need a little more grace. Be kind to yourself and to others. Negativity can be contagious but so can kindness and joy. Do what you can to spread the latter.
Next up on the blog-how to capture some great images of your family or baby while under stay at home orders!
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