Your view versus their view: keys to joy survival kit

May 21, 2020

At the start of the year, I had all of these grand ideas, plans, and goals. Each year I consider them ongoing or modified as each year comes along on ways to improve, whether spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally, profsssionally, etc. The COVID-19 pandemic hit like a ton of bricks and here I was Ms. Extrovert heart on sleeve completely confused as much of the rest of the world seemed to be; we were stopped dead in our tracks. It goes perfectly with that saying “When a man makes a plan, God laughs.” We had no idea this would be a new norm of wearing masks out in public, learning to socialize in other ways to “get through this together” as they say.

I found myself googling ways to cope or hugging social media as a crutch to survive. I learned a couple things and still learning as I go. First, slow the heck down. This situation forced me to get in this habit. Enjoy my husband and our dog in the morning, my cup of coffee or morning texts I’d missed from the night before. I notice the sounds of the day, I get dressed and we schedule a time to walk Mia to get fresh air. Second, find something to do and this conincides with, reach out for help. This one is still lost on me lol sometimes! I read and watch Netflix and water my few tiny plants, but needed to be useful. I looked at our to-do lists, things we had put off, and decided it was a great time to start. My home office desk got ordered, and a book shelf, and a nice chair which had long been over due. I sent group texts out to loved ones and emails reaching out to people. You never know, they may need you, and you made need them during this time. Social virtual happy hours are wonderful. Get creative, even with date nights :) ! This way, you won’t be bored to tears or climbing walls, if you haven’t done so already. Plenty of ideas out there, or heck learn more about your spouse even! I tried virtual reality video games one night with my husband. It was a trip, but it was important to him, and he was excited to share this side of his life.

Third, find someone to love. Whooee this one is huge. Someone you can confide in, when everything is square or messy. For me its my husband and my close friends. I can freely chat with them and share my heart and we pray for one another and refer back to God when we really have no answers. Family is important as well. They need you and you need them, even if it is hard to come forward and admit it. We are all going through life in different ways, with different challenges. Instead of stepping apart, we can grow together.

Lastly, find something to look forward to. This is paramount to keep you laser focused and distract you from negativity and emotions. This one has kind of been my toughest bar. We had a trip planned in June to go to Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. Covid happened, and we needed to change gears. Matt’s parents were also moving out here to TN (update they found a home and are here now too), which was something we needed to remember, this wasn’t about us. It is about helping others. We planned on this world jet set getaway, but realized something else. That trip is paid for. We can go another time. They need us and it is a great time to be supportive especially since we completed our cross country move, and we can swap house project ideas and even be there for other people who maybe we normally didn’t know if we had time for.

Encourage you all to do the same! We love you friends and family and hope you all are staying safe and are here for you. You are your own best critic. It is okay to be sad, depressed, and disoriented, overwhelmed, stressed etc, those feelings are all valid. You are loved and you got this!