Our world as we know it has changed and continues to drastically within a matter of days. These are circumstances most of us never could have completely imagined nor fully prepared for. Regardless of your political standpoint or views on COVID-19 and the government mandated closures all over the country, these circumstances are affecting our livelihoods, businesses are on the verge of failure, and children everywhere are turning to their Chromebooks for virtual learning and zoom meetings with their teachers and fellow classmates. Unless you’re an essential employee, or are able to work from home, you. don’t. have. a. job. right now.
We have all gone through an entire roller coaster of emotions by now, trying to balance school, work, parenting, life at home, etc while keeping spirits high and doing our best to manage and model healthy stress management to our children at home. Many are left wondering how or when they’ll be able to pay their rent and other bills. Unfortunately, those stimulus checks we haven’t seen yet aren’t going to cut it for the amount of time we’ll be in this thing. We’ve seen all the posts on social media, ranging from positive and encouraging words to angry and frustrated rants; many of which justify our negative feelings and even crap on those who are trying not to sulk. There is ABSOLUTELY no right or wrong way to feel during this unprecedented time but we have to try to make the most of a really shitty situation so that we can be healthy functioning adults with healthy functioning and highly adaptable children when we get out of this! The sooner we accept our current reality and do our part to flatten this curve, the sooner we can begin to live happier and closer to normal despite the flaws this year has presented. One thing we need to remember during shit times in our lives is that digging a hole only makes it deeper and harder to get out of when we’re finally tired of digging. We can’t change the negative aspects of our current situation but we CAN try to find the positive because guess what America, we’re ALL going through the same thing! A little differently yes, but our entire country and much of the world are in the same boat right now. Take deep breath, RELAX, and repeat. It’s OK to feel overwhelmed, confused, and angry but sooner than later I STRONGLY encourage you to try and find the light in this dark cave. Ask yourself what you’re doing to make this situation better for you, your loved ones, our country, the world as a whole. What can you do to give hope to children who are watching our every move and how we react, and how we treat each other during times of crisis or pandemic? Do we panic or persevere? We know how dark things can get but I encourage you to dig deep and try to BE the light. Try some of the following, come up with your own, shift your mindset, be grateful and let’s be UNITED America. We got this!
- Zoom call a friend/family member
- Play a virtual game
- Read a book
- Learn something new
- Watch a new movie
- Bake something new (involve your kids!)
- Camp in your backyard
- Work in the yard/garden
- Go for a Run/walk
- Build something (giant Jenga, corn hole board etc.)
- Order delivery/carry out from a LOCAL restaurant/cafe
- Write in a journal
- Make family videos (or tiktoc like the cool kids)
- Start a blog
- Meditate or do yoga (relax your mind)
- Message a friend
- Do an iphone photo shoot
- Paint a window (stained glass)
- Say a prayer or read a poem (you don’t have to be religious)
- Do a workout at home
- Watch a virtual concert (all the famous people are doing it)
- Join/start a bookclub with your friends
- Listen to a podcast
- Plan/prep some meals for the week
- Join a facebook group of likeminded interests
- Cook an ALL OUT amazing breakfast
- Clean out your closet or garage
- Go for a bike ride
- Teach your kids an old game
- Look through old photo albums
- Have a virtual “Night Out” (bevvy of choice required)
- Do Karaoke
- Do a science project
- Make a goal (miles ran, books read, etc)
- Go to bed early AND wake up early
- Try making that foamy coffee everyone is posting about
- Learn and tell some dad jokes
- Share something POSITIVE and unrelated to politics on social media
- Watch a Netflix comedy special or any comedy show (The Office duh!)
- Make a homemade pizza
- Buy gift cards from your favorite LOCAL businesses (Great Christmas gifts!)
- Watch a romantic drama (CRY it out, its OK!!)
- Share a story about your childhood to a friend or with your kids
- Have deeper conversations with your spouse/significant other (no stressful topics)
- Color or freshen up your drawing skills
- Join a virtual gym/yoga class
- Practice mindfulness
- Give a compliment to at least 10 friends publicly on social media
- Ask your kids, friends, family members how they’re feeling.
- Make a list of everything you’re grateful for
AiRow Health & Fitness 