Pausing in a Pandemic
5am wake up and shower, 6am breakfast, 7am carpool line for kid number 1, 7:30am carpool line for kid number 2, 8am work day begins, 5pm workday ends, 5:30pm grab Chick-fil-a on the way to practice or dance or scouts, 6pm arrive at practice or dance, or scouts, 7pm homework and a snack, 8pm bath and bedtime for the kids (if you’re lucky), 9pm check homework, pack backpacks and lunches, review the calendar of events for tomorrow, 10pm head to the home office to work just a bit longer, 11pm shower and head to bed…
…NOW… Rinse, recycle, and repeat.
We find ourselves caught up in the business of each day with work, practices, rehearsals, PTO activities, class projects (sometimes yours, sometimes the kids), laundry, dishes, vacuuming, meal preparation… the list goes on and on. Oftentimes we do this without leaving ourselves very many opportunities to stop and smell the roses. We are constantly on the go putting wear and tear on our vehicles, our bodies, and our minds without giving proper rest to any of these areas. This life of hustle and bustle has become our norm and resting is an extremely difficult task for us.
For many of us, sheltering in place or social distancing has caused a great deal of stress, anxiety, depression, frustration, and even aggression. The very thought of sitting at home with our spouses and our children and having to interact and communicate more that just the schedule for the day can feel frustrating and even foreign to many of us. Time may seem to be slowing down or it may seem to be flying by. Routines have changed, schedules altered, activities are put on hold, work has moved into our homes, and schools have closed early with little knowledge of what the fall will bring. Life as we have known it for so many seasons, has changed. The pause button for most of us has been pressed.
So, what do we do in this time of pause? How do we regain some semblance of our previous life? How do we adjust to this very new and uncertain part life? Well, what if we actually took the time to pause…to truly pause and embrace this time that has, by circumstance, been given to us all. What if we took this time to connect to our teenage son who has been angrier over the last year, or bond with our daughter who has seemed to grow more distant as she grows older? What if we took this time to work on marriages that may be rocky and lackluster and make them shine like new, or reconnect with parents, siblings, family, and friends we may have had a falling out with in the past, via Zoom of course? Taking the time to pause can be a period of relaxation, revitalization, restoration, and reformation. Pausing in a pandemic can give us time to reexamine what really matters in life and to focus on getting to know the people who live in our own homes…our families.
Social distancing does not have to equal social isolation but perhaps, social prioritization. Life for us will not always be spent on lockdown or in isolation, so what do you do once the coast is clear and its business as usual. Is that extra after school activity for the kids really needed? Will working one more hour really give you more of an advantage? Do you have to say yes to leading the bake sale and the toy drive and the carwash? What can you say no to today so that you can say yes to what matters most…loving and being in the presence of those incredibly special people that live within your own four walls. While the time of isolation is here, do your best to laugh, love, and truly live a life that allows you to see what is in front of you in the moment and not always needing to see what is 4 steps ahead of you to “increase productivity.” So, in this moment and at this time, I encourage us all to take the time to stop and smell the roses and to work to truly ...
... ENJOY THE PAUSE.
