YourChoice Blog

 

As I’m writing this, we are in Phase 2 with some restrictions being lifted from the “safer at home” order. Like many of you all, this has been quite the emotional roller coaster for me. For a time period, every day felt like Groundhog’s day and there was no end in sight when this pandemic might end. I don’t know about you, but it seems like the days are VERY LONG but the months seem to fly by. I came up with a list of 5 lessons I learned regarding practicing “self-care” during the quarantine for myself & my family that I’d love to share with you.

1. Create a routine. I am a fitness professional, but my #1 job is being a Mother. Once this pandemic hit and I had to jump into the role now of also being a teacher, I thought things would not be too difficult. Boy, was I wrong! I found that creating a daily schedule (posted on the fridge) for the kids & myself to see, helped us feel there was a path to follow for the day. This routine involved exercise, their school work for the day, “ relax time”, & time outside ( a TON of time outside). Without this schedule, I think there would have been even more chaos. I knew kids do better with routine, but this really sealed the deal for me. By the way, teachers are saints! There was so much uncertainty going on, that the routine helped me feel like there was “ some kind of order.”
2. Riding bikes as a family is so much fun! While we really had nowhere to go for fun, my husband and I basically forced our 4 year old son, Charlie, to learn how to ride his bike without training wheels in one day. Once he conquered that goal, it was a fantastic treat every day to get out and ride bikes as a family. We got some exercise, Vitamin D and enjoyed the scenery as a family. I would also add quality time, but there was PLENTY of that over the past few months.
3. Practice gratitude. All of a sudden when I couldn’t get my favorite healthy foods in the stores, or go out to eat to any restaurant, or go to my gym, or know when I’d be going back to work, I felt very anxious. I suddenly realized how much I have taken for granted, even at the basic level. Who would have thought that we might have to worry about getting toilet paper? We can just click a button on Amazon and order anything we want (usually). Once Covid hit, all of our “normal” things we take for granted were not available. I forced myself each day to write a gratitude list (even when I didn’t feel like it), because it was the only way to keep my head above water some days. So today I am grateful for: hot showers, coffee, my family being healthy, my brother surviving Covid-19, and living in Florida.
4. Rest is a must in our lives. I am typically someone who doesn’t sit down to relax until my head hits the pillow at night. I usually have a list of 20 things to accomplish each day and sometimes look like a chicken with my head cut off. The quarantine taught me that rest is a necessity. I have truly enjoyed being home with my husband and children each night, and not rushing off to some kind of activity. We have eaten as a family together most nights, I have let them stay up a little later playing outside, and we have all slept in more than normal. I even had to stop exercising for 2 weeks due to an injury, and my body thanked me for it. Rest is just as important as drinking enough water or getting exercise. This gives our nervous system a chance to recover and in fact is great for our immune systems.
5. Connection with others is so vital. I have never facetimed, zoom’d, texted or called family & friends as much as I did during the quarantine. I typically prefer face to face interaction, but that wasn’t quite possible like normal. I really got to know my neighbors a lot better as well (social distancing of course), as we were all helping one another out. It was reiterated to me once again that asking for help is a sign of courage, not a sign of weakness. I felt better on those “low days” once I talked to a friend/family member and was really honest about what I was feeling inside. Connection is much better than isolation, even if we have to do it virtually. I can’t wait to get back to "Real" hugs though, and I can honestly say I won’t miss the “virtual hugs.”