5 things the pandemic is teaching me

For many, this time at home is frustrating and they just want it to be over. Too much work if they have families to take care of. Too much stress of keeping the kids busy or from killing each other. Too much arguing with spouse, partner or loved ones over whether to go out to get groceries or if what they want is a necessity or not. Too much noise, time, chaos!

For others, it is frustrating for other reasons. There’s not enough...time, money, toilet paper, stimulation, social interaction, quiet, or work to do. It is a lonely time, a fearful time.

For me, it’s a busy time. A time full of noise, laughter, joy, yelling and losing my mind, fearing the unknown, dealing with the mundane, being a referee, and a teacher. Some days, I get a lot done. Dishes, laundry, time to myself, even! Listen to a podcast (ah, the beauty of it!). Make dinner with no interruptions. But really, what has this time been teaching me? Am I still just going through the motions of life, just wanting it to be over? Or am I sitting back and reflecting on my life and asking, what can I learn from this? Here’s what comes to mind as I reflect through this pandemic:

1. Be still. Of course, I’m still struggling to do this! All this time at home and I still feel rushed to get the kids food, get them ready for virtual school, etc. And we have nowhere to go! Yet my spirit tells me to slow down and give time to sit and drink my coffee. Carve out time to pray, meditate, do devotions. If I am mindful and do this in the morning, it makes for a much calmer day.

2. Create a to-do list. I’m a visual person-so I need to see something in order to organize my thoughts and to remember to do it. For me, I use a white board and then I get the satisfaction of erasing what I’ve done. What a great feeling when it is clear!

3. Don’t worry about entertaining. My children, that is. I did that during the first and second week of the Stay at Home order and you know what happened? They became reliant on me to fill their boredom. So I decided to hit the stop button and voila! They now find their own things to do, which has been very entertaining for me to watch what they get into. Climbing trees? Yes. Riding scooters again? Yep! Got the Nerf guns out? Absolutely. And let me tell you, friends, it is GLORIOUS! So now instead of me doing the entertaining, I am the one being entertained! Amazing how that works.

4. Plan. This is especially important for groceries! Create a menu for the week or month, write out my to-do list for the day or even for the kids. A plan for how I want to exercise that day, do I want to run, do yoga, or a workout video?

And lastly,

5. Connect. Let’s face it. I can really keep myself busy. But my kids need connection and so does my husband. Here is a big parenting secret...I heard once that all it takes is 13 minutes of your undivided attention with your child to fill their tank. 13!! So take that times 3 kids=39 minutes of my day. I can surely spare them that. Now, do I recommend ONLY 13 minutes per day with your child? Absolutely not! But it sure does take the pressure off of thinking you need to spend hours interacting with them.

Connect also with friends through Zoom, Messenger, Skype, FaceTime, whichever you prefer. It has been a game changer for our family. We have seen friends and made pretty significant connection with them through Zoom meetings! We continue to hold our Life Group meetings, as well as host game night with friends!

Don't forget to make time to connect with your spouse/partner. Have face-to-face (or shoulder-to-shoulder) time with them over coffee, tea, wine, water, whatever! Talk about your hopes, fears, goals. Even if it’s 10 minutes, it’s something!

So there you have it, friends. This is what I have learned and I continue to learn through COVID. I know this will all be over sooner rather than later. I know I’ll look back and say, that was a hard, scary time. But mostly, I hope I can look back with a smile on my face of all the good memories of our family time.