Wow. Pretty sure no one saw THAT coming. And by THAT, I mean the whole world going sideways. Schools closing, teens returning from college, husbands and wives working from home, pets wondering why they no longer have the house to themselves – THAT. And again, wow. Still processing all the thoughts and emotions that come along with that… (+) more family time, (-) huge grocery bill, (+) Slower schedule, (-) bored out of our minds by May, (+) extra time to work on house projects, (-) motivation is lost after second closet is cleaned. Positives and negatives all over the place, typically on the same day – causing a tsunami of emotions that only our poor quarantine mates get to experience firsthand (although I’m fairly certain it was happening in every house in the subdivision).

I am a big proponent for calling it like it is. And this is a big mess. If you had things canceled, trips postponed, family events put on hold indefinitely, I’m sorry. It stinks. And you are allowed to be frustrated, angry, and sad. Better yet – you NEED to acknowledge what you are feeling. Your negative emotions aren’t going to go away. They will find a place, set up camp, and grow. Those grumpy, mad, hurt feelings will find an inconvenient time in the future to jump out and spew all over people that had nothing to do with this. Please, feel it. All of it. Be angry (break a plate, scream into a pillow). Be disappointed (take a walk, talk about it). Be sad (cry, eat ice cream out of the carton – no time for bowls now, friends!) Do what you need to do – in a safe way – to process and move forward.

It’s nearing the end of July and this mess appears to be ramping up yet again. I’d assume that it’s not just me that wishes this “new normal” would take a flying leap. My greatest piece of advice – hold on. Don’t let it pull you under. Smile if you want through it – but it’s not necessary. Just get through it – it surely doesn’t have to be the “best year ever”. Stop putting extra pressure on yourself, sometimes survival needs to be the goal. I’ll be checking in on you again soon!

*Big hugs during this big mess!*