Corona has presented many challenges: economic, school, self-care, social distancing, stay-at-home orders, mask making, etc… You know the list. We’re in this mess together. My favorite phrase so far is, our boats might look a little different but it’s the same storm.
Some joy-filled, self-care background
When my husband first deployed, nearly a decade ago, I had three tiny kids at home and was terrified. He had enlisted a year after our daughter was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer. When it came time for that first deployment, I was traveling from El Paso, TX to Memphis, TN, four times a year with three babies under five.
To say I was terrified is an understatement.
I decided to refocus my efforts, and the inspiration for my book, Finding Joy: The Year Apart That Made Me A Better Wife, was born.
See, here’s the truth. My marriage barely survived our daughter’s cancer fight, followed quickly by John’s decision to enlist in the Army. I did not know if we had what it took to survive a deployment.
Instead of calling it quits I set out to find some joy, no matter the circumstances, and to focus on a little self-care.
How the book of Esther inspired me
Rather than grumble about my circumstances and the year apart, I decided to follow the lead of Esther and prepare my heart and my home “for such a time as this.” It became my goal to take a year and prepare for my husband’s return, just as Esther prepared for her King Xerxes.
In my mind self-care meant a year of bubble baths and skincare. Fast forward to chapter three in Finding Joy, and you’ll discover my first attempt at spa-like treatment ended with me mostly naked in the backyard (you’ll have to read to find out why).
The reality is that Esther was forced into beauty treatments to win the King’s approval in bed. I quickly discovered that my focus was overly on the outside when what I needed to look at more fully was the inside. I don’t want to live in Esther’s world, and I don’t want my daughters to either.
What inspired me about Esther was that regardless of her circumstances, she sought the advice of others, approached the future with wisdom and courage, and did so with a kind heart.
I needed to get there. I could feel my world slipping into bitterness at the situation I found myself in. Neither the Army or being a cancer mom were paths I had chosen but ones that felt forced on me.
Self-care needed to start within.
Self-care today
Finding Joy highlights the journey I undertook to find my own path during circumstances that were not of my choosing. Today I’m not bitter; I’m grateful for the lessons learned and the life I’ve lived thus far. Would I have chosen something different? Probably, but then I wouldn’t be who I am today, so, yes, I’m grateful for all of it.
Corona is a new storm to weather. I’m working through what that looks like in our home.
Virtual school
Even though we’ve homeschooled, I’ve even stood up and led multiple large homeschool co-ops, virtual school is not going well in our home. It is hard
The best I know to do is encourage the children to try, help make a list every morning of what needs to be accomplished, and pay attention to when they are overwhelmed and need to step away (This is where you drop tips in the comments for me, pleaseeeeeee).
Writing
Leading into the stay-at-home order, I had created a steady income with freelance writing. I lucked out in a way. My job was already a work from home situation, so one would think that very little adjusting would need to occur. Well, virtual school stole my computer. So while I’m still writing for clients, my writing, what has brought me the most joy in the past, has stagnated.
On our pre-corona schedule, I’d wake up before the rest of the house, fit in a Master Class and write 1,000 words before starting my day. Now I’m doing good to wake up before 8 and just start the day. Something needs to change!
Volunteering
I love to get involved in the local community! If you know me well, you know this is a central part of who I am. But how does one do that in the middle of Corona?
With the help of a few other amazing women, I stood up HopeforTampa.com, where we are fulfilling orders for free homemade face masks for medical workers in Tampa Bay. Our Facebook group has grown to over 1,000, and we’ve already supplied over 6,000 masks.
The best part is that organizing it only requires my phone! So while the kids are busy doing virtual school and stealing my computer, I’m coordinating mask requests and fulfillment. There is always a way to help others! Even when you can’t leave your house.
In addition to starting up HopeforTampa.com, I joined the Board of Directors for ARK of Tampa, an animal rescue. I’m functioning as the secretary on Zoom meetings and am overseeing the Instagram acct, filling it with beautiful pictures of foster babies that are available and those that have been adopted out. Who doesn’t love a cute cat or dog picture?
Wholistic health
Are you grazing? Corona snacking? At first, I had no appetite but that slowly changed and I started finding myself staring into the abyss of our pantry and fridge looking for something to munch on. Ugh! All that work I’ve been doing at the gym and suddenly I’m a sedentary snacker.
Ok, this one was a little simpler to fix. I now get up at 7 and take a mile walk. It gets my blood pumping and my neighbor sends me a text at 7:15 to make sure I’m up and going. It’s not my original 5 am wakeup, but it’s better than sleeping till noon.
As for all that snacking, I’d realized it was because I wasn’t paying proper attention to my health from the inside out. Stress and boredom were dictating my diet. I decided it was time to refocus.
Looking back over the last twenty years, I realized the times that I felt healthiest was when I had arbonnized my home. I also loved Arbonne as a company. What better time than now to start up a home-based business that helps me realign my own health and well-being? It’s also something I can do via phone because well, virtual school stole my computer (have I mentioned that yet).
And for additional stress release, we’ve turned as a family to art projects: painting flower pots to give out to neighbors on May Day, filling the window with hearts, sewing masks, making photo collages, crafting cities from cardboard boxes, building origami farms, turning the house into a glue filled construction paper work of art complete with paint spills. I’ll clean up when we get through this!
What would you add to this list?
What are some things you are doing to combat the Corona boredom?
