What day is it? Well, I know it's Tuesday because the newsletter goes out! It's great that I can still put my creative energy into Macaroni Kid, I'm not sure what else I'd be doing for me during this quarantine time. Macaroni Kid is such a great outlet for me and I love being a resource for families and businesses in our community. I know we'll be back to family events and fun things to do outside, we just have to stick it out - together.
I feel almost settled into this new 'normal'. I don't like it (who does?), but we're getting better at it. My daughter is 3.5 and my son will be 2 next month. I know we are on the simple side of 'home-schooling', and since I've been a stay-at-home-working-Mom, some of these things are easy, albeit monotonous. I still didn't expect to be on furlough my other job or have my mom be injured just days after the stay-at-home order (she's ok!), or have my wife stay in a hotel for 3 weeks and counting. She's on the front-lines, a job I'm not sure I could do. We miss her immensely and hope to have her home soon. (My Mom would be on the front lines too, so we are grateful she's home). I have tried to stay focused on the things I can control and not dwell much on the things I can't.
Here's my list of things I'm doing to stay slightly sane. You may find some helpful. What are you doing for YOU during this time?
- I bought my favorite scent booster for my laundry (the huge size). It seems so simple, but it's a scent I love and I feel cozy and comfy when I snuggle in a blanket or crawl into bed at night.
- School lunch. I'm participating in the school lunch program in my town. We have some picky eaters, so this adds some great variety to our meals and helps with our grocery budget.
- Walks. In the start of being home, we went every day. Now, New England weather hasn't been cooperating much (snow?! days of rain?!), so it's only a few times a week now. But walking gets us out of the house. My daughter loves splashing in the puddles.
- Walks. Alone. This can be tough. And I'm not the best at asking for help to watch the kids, but after a walk alone, I always feel better.
- Pull out the video game system. We dusted off the Wii. My kids are slightly interested, and my Mom and I have had some great laughs with the just dance games. My step count and heart are up - so it's great for the FitBit challenges, too.
- Get dirty. I'm a messy Mom - I love the paint, the cooking, the yard, the muddy puddles. Some of our best days have been when we get outside and get dirty. If we plan it right, it leads to bathtime and a nap (or bedtime!).
- Shower. (Seems so obvious).
- Download some fun apps that you can use with or without the kids. We have fun playlists on Spotify for dance parties (or just tell Alexa to play KidsBop, or 90s one-hit-wonders). We also like SkyView for tracking the moon, planets, and stars. This week I got iNaturalist - it lets you take photos of plants and bugs and helps to identify them! For me, I downloaded WTForecast and have it give me R-Rated weather updates. (I've gotta laugh!).
- Guided Meditation. This surprised me, I should have been doing this a long time ago. At night, I search the Spotify app for Guided Sleep Meditation. I pick a voice, start the audio, and set the sleep timer for 45-60 minutes. It helps to calm my mind in a way I never expected.
- Stay off social media and mainstream news. Stay informed, but pace yourself. I know myself well enough that getting daily updates about this crisis is not good for me. We tend to stick to the DVR, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and on-demand movies (and a few DVDs). I'll catch some local news on the radio or watch the weather forecast - and then turn it off. If you're scrolling social media and the messages aren't positive, stop following those pages or people. Follow some fun stuff!
Putting my list to paper makes me realize I am doing things to take care of me and my family. When these days blend together, it's hard to grasp if we've done anything worthwhile. But we are. WE ALL ARE, it just may look a little different.
Stay safe and be kind.
Emily
