Oh lovelies. We are all feeling some level of fear. Some level of anxiety. Some level of scarcity, uncertainty, helplessness. Yes?
And we are seeing the affects of these negative emotions: selfishness, chaos, mass buying of toilet paper and hand sanitizer… There is a difference in preparedness and panic. There is a difference between indifference and calm.
As always, there is a place in between. I’m striving to be in this place. The place where I am prepared with some food and toilet paper and frozen pizzas and alcohol (my husband and two young adults and I will be home together for three weeks, don’t judge!) The place where I am not terrified that someone I love develops this virus. The place where I can learn to just be present, accept what is, and manage what I can.
As I sit here and type, listening to Maxwell, (remember Maxwell?) enjoying a glass of wine, Hubs is driving to the airport to fetch Girl. Girl was living abroad this semester. Something she has saved for and planned for since she was 12 years old. She must come home.
Boy is out with friends after hearing the news that his senior year of high school is suspended at least for three weeks and his final spring break baseball trip is cancelled. And knowing, in the back of his mind, that the baseball season may be cancelled too.
Hubs and I have been asked by our companies to work from home until the beginning of April.
All four of us. Together again. In our home. While this is dreamlike for me in some ways, it’s a bit scary in others. Our family is dealing with sadness and disappointment and uncertainty. All at the same time. The stock market is down – our investments taking hits. Our kids grumpy and angry and one under self imposed quarantine.
It’s enough frightened anticipation to turn even the most enlightened of us into a ball of nerves.
However, we have to find a smidge of comfort in that we are not alone. You and me and our neighbors and our coworkers and our friends and extended family are all dealing with uncertainty today. And tomorrow. And for a while to come. We are all in this shitstorm together.
And. We absolutely can panic and hoard the toilet paper and soap and paper towels. Fear causes us to go into survival mode. We can also choose to pause, and breathe and react differently.
We can try to understand. We are a we. You, me, the world around us. The world across the oceans. We are all in a place of fear right now. But we can choose to NOT ALLOW FEAR to make our decisions.
We can survive without hoarding. We can practice social distancing while remaining close to one another – through texting and email and laughter and phone calls – YES PHONE CALLS. We can remain close to each other by calling on elderly neighbors, buying some gift certificates (even in small amounts) to our favorite restaurants and local businesses. We can be patient when we go to the grocery store.
We can read a book. We can write a letter. We can pray for one another. We can do our best to stay healthy. We can listen to music. We can go for a walk. We can write a blog post 🙂
While there is SO MUCH WE CANNOT DO right now if we want to truly help the world around us and help ourselves – there is also SO MUCH WE CAN DO.
So let us find calm in this chaos. Let us pray for patience. Because, on all that is holy, I need patience with my three favorite people being under one roof for three weeks.
Let us choose calm. Let us choose faith over fear. Let us follow good advice provided by the CDC, our doctors and science. Let us not overreact. Let us NOT under react. Let us stay the course. Let us think of one another.
Let us find some calm in the chaos.
You Know Neen 