Competing in next week’s big game.
Carefree time on the 3-day weekend.
A long planned-for (paid for!) international adventure.
Taking in the beauty of the first farmer’s markets of the season.
All things to look forward to. Now, all on hold.
When the Coronavirus started to rapidly unfold in America last week, I said to a new friend “it feels like everything now has an asterisk next to it. Everything is to be announced, subject to change without notice.” I didn’t know what that meant then, a few short days ago. So much happens each day.
Not only are the things we have to look forward to either canceled, postponed, or up in the air, even the basic routines of life are disrupted. Will I go to work next week, and if so where and for how long? My daughter is unexpectedly doing school online for a while. How will that go? You’d think she would be thrilled, but she groaned when I told her. She said she will miss school, even with the ridiculously early wakeups and late nights getting home from practice. She loves her teams and her friends and being with people.
That’s really it. We look forward to people. Experiencing and sharing life with them.
Now it’s all social distancing. Abundance of caution. Flatten the curve. A curve ball I wasn’t anticipating.
I’ll admit, the uncertainty has gotten me glum or a little anxious at times. Even though I’m sometimes overwhelmed by my typically busy life, I love what I do. I’ve started to reflect and appreciate the joyfully-packed life I get to lead most of the time. And I know it will return.
At the moment, I am living in the present more so than I have in a while. The calendar is suddenly much emptier than it was. The urgency of a lot of things is gone. It’s very strange, living in the time of to be announced.
As for healthy hacks? What helps me today is focusing on what I can control. Exercise. Nutrition. Cleaning. Routines. Basics. Patience. Taking some time to get outside to appreciate the signs of spring that are popping up (see the pics!) Nature has a rhythm that continues and comforts in times of upheaval. Keeping the amount of news and social media I consume at a reasonable level. I have had a rocky time with several of these already, but I’m trying.
I choose focused over frantic. Present over pessimistic. Peaceful over panicked.
Choose daily.
2 Chicks and a blog 