Stop, Revise

Day 9 of 14: Taking Care during COVID-19 Self Quarantine

(3-26-20)

​

1) Yourself - Mental: Fake it til you make it. Today, you may not have gotten up in the best of moods, or you have been overloaded with too much news and social media. Some days will be much harder than others. That is okay! When you feel overwhelmed, take a step back and maybe go without any news or social media for a specific amount of time.

 

It could be your workload now that you have to work from home and home school all at the same time. Praise yourself just because you make it to the end of the day without giving up. If you have a close friend or family member who is always there to help lift your spirits and let you know that you are doing awesome - give them a call when you are down. We all need praise from time to time, and adults are not exempt from needing their back stroked every once in a while.

 

Maybe today the school age children won’t do the school work, they get overwhelmed too. Rework their schedule or throw it out altogether and pick it up another time. Sometimes babies will cry uncontrollably, if someone else lives with you allow them to look after for sometime and give your self some time to just breath. Maybe you care for an older dependent, and they may not understand why they can't go to weekly bingo like they used to. Give it some time instead of arguing because they may just forget they were even complaining. Life may be demanding right now, and this, too, is okay. What is not okay is to take it too seriously that you are no longer helpful. Remember, you can only control yourself. When circumstances prevent you from being positive. STOP, reassess, and get back to happiness.

 

2) Dependents - ART TIME: (part 2) Coloring has been made a lot easier in this day and age. There are coloring apps for tablets, computers, and phones in your home. When you go to the Dollar Store, you can find crayons, colored pencils, markers, watercolors, paint, brushes, glitter, coloring books, pads of paper, sketchbooks, poster boards, and plenty more to help your child, or you can get creative with color.

​

There are crayons for the tub that can be used to create a mosaic right on your tiled wall. Have everyone get involved if you all love to draw. Have the first person start the picture, and as each person takes their shower or bath, add something to the picture until everyone has been cleaned. You can leave it up or keep adding to it for the week if you like. Take a picture to save your family's masterpiece for years to come. It will be a great way to mark this time and continue the conversation for years to come. and large paper to cover walls. Let your entire space be a creative place.

​

3) Planning Ahead - Recycle more...you have nothing in time. Not only are you taking care of the family but you are taking care of this earth that is so fragile from our continuous consumption. Maybe you can even create a compost for the gardening that you love so much. There are plenty of sights on creative ways to recycle or how to create compost at home. With little to no out-of-pocket expense. Here are a couple of sites just in case you need a place to begin www.thespruce.com or diyinspired.com

 

4) Activity for all- The rap duo Outkast said it best: "Get up, get out and do something." You don't always need a plan; sometimes, just being outside will inspire you in the direction you need to go during this time. Maybe there is no garden or sidewalk to shovel; get out for one reason or another. Make it your own, your head is as good as mine!

Smile, another day with your mind and body still intact