Y’all!!!! Life.is.crazy. I cannot believe we are doing the things we are doing: staying home, only going out to grocery shop, walking and biking until I feel like my legs are going to fall off, and making sure I keep 6 feet away from everyone except my immediate family! You guys know the list…we order take out instead of socializing inside restaurants, we are now helping our kids with school (God bless our teachers), and we aren’t supposed to hug anyone. Beyond that, some parents are juggling school and a full-time job from home and/or have been laid off or furloughed. Times are unprecedented!!! If you had told me last year I’d be writing a blog post about making things normal for ourselves, I would have laughed in your face.
Self -Care is a buzz word these days, but during this coronavirus, we need as much as we can get. Self-Care is also very challenging these days, as we are around our immediately family all.the.time.with.no.break. For me, this has brought about some sweet memories and realizing how much time I usually spend in the car coupled with looking into my kids’ sweet faces and saying “I love you, please stop touching Mommy and go find something to do. Love you.” Maybe if I sandwich my “get away from me” between “love you” it won’t seem as mean..ha!
For ideas to help kids deal with these new stresses, be sure to check out the post I wrote for Jacksonville Mom called Coronavirus Affects Us All, But What About Our Kids?
BUT for the mamas reading this post, here are a few SIMPLE ways to stay sane during this very in-sane time in our lives.
KEEP A ROUTINE!
This does not mean you need to keep a super strict, micromanaged schedule of every hour of every day, but having a routine means normalcy, and that is comforting to us humans :). Check out this post on Block Scheduling from Fun, Cheap or Free. I am going to implement this for my kids and myself this upcoming week. Be sure to watch the video that goes along with it! I wish I had half the energy Jordan does!
MAKE YOUR BED DAILY!
This may seem trivial, but I encourage you to try it! My middle kiddo uses our master bedroom for her school lessons, and our bed is in the background! I make sure to always have it made before she starts her morning meeting at 8:30am, but one time I got lazy on the weekend, and didn’t make it. It just felt weird until I did. Then all seemed right with the world.
PUT MAKEUP ON AND BRUSH YOUR HAIR AND TEETH!
I have gone barefaced a few days and while it’s fun, I think it all goes back to the whole “normal” thing. I feel more confident and ready to attack the day with my face on. Obviously if you don’t normally wear makeup, no need to start now, but my point is to keep things similar to what you did pre-quarantine. Also, make sure you brush your hair and your kiddo’s hair as well, and obviously teeth brushing is important too (I’ll confess I have slacked on kid morning brushing a few days -EWWWW- as we are rushing from the breakfast table to computers to start school meetings because we slept in, and then time just gets away from me)! One way around this is to just brush their teeth right when they wake up! Done!
GET DRESSED!
Yoga pants are awesome for a while, and as I type this I am a bit of a hypocrite because I stayed in my workout clothes all day today. FULL confession- I also slept in the workout clothes last night (pre-workout, I’m not that crazy, friends) because laundry needs done ha! But by the end of the day I felt gross, which does not help my mental state! So tomorrow I’ll be wearing my other uniform- jeans and a t-shirt.
Kids are a different story- my opinion is pick your battles (both my girls are still in pajamas at 4pm as I type this).
STAY AWAY FROM THE NEWS!
This is probably my biggest piece of advice. I check news once a day, and I check my local news, to see if there are any new restrictions in place, or any bans that have been lifted. I do not read into/buy into fear mongering, and for me, it’s hard to not get stressed out watching national headline news. Everyone has theories and opinions, and for the most part, things like this do not help my day to day. So, my self- care here is to just say NO! to all the news drama 😊.
EXERCISE!
We all know it’s good for us, but if you just can’t get on your bike one more time this week, check out SBNation for several great choices of at home exercises. Relay races in the backyard are also fun. At my house we like water balloon fights, which really make me move fast!
Conversely, I have a friend who is ALWAYS on top of her health and wellness and during this crazy time, she has decided to just relax and not stress about always working out and eating perfectly…and that’s ok too! Self-care can look quite different for all of us.
BIBLE READING/COFFEE ON BACK PORCH/JOURNALING/MEDITATING
I have enjoyed drinking my coffee from a regular coffee mug, instead of always making it and throwing it into a to go cup for drinking during errands and school drop offs. It is not by any means hot when I drink it, but it is now in one of the cute mugs I bought with visions of morning coffee on my back porch.
Journaling can be helpful to get out frustrations or to just record a few things we are grateful for each day. Shop Disney has some magical options for journaling!
PLAN DATE NIGHTS WITH SPOUSE
This may be the last sweet human face you want to see right now, but I am finding hubby and I kind of co-exist and don’t have “us time” during this coronavirus pandemic (or during normal life as well). He is (thankfully) busy working in our upstairs bonus room and I am busy with kid care during the day. At night he collapses in front of the TV after helping get kids to bed while I head to the computer for catching up on social media or working on blog stuff. Plan just a night a week to either snuggle on the couch (WITHOUT a phone, iPad or laptop with you) or have a glass of wine/make a milkshake together and talk about something OTHER than the coronavirus! It can be a quick 30 minutes, but I feel refreshed and connected afterwards.
TIME ALONE
This looks different for all of us too, but my husband is getting good at knowing when I need to get out. He’ll say “do you want to do the store run?” or sometimes I just need to drive aimlessly, get myself a Chick-fil-a chocolate chunk cookie (calories don’t count during quarantine) and Diet Coke and eat it without being asked for any of it 😊. Or maybe a walk with headphones on blaring whatever music I want is the key that day. Sometimes silence is the key and a bubble bath is what I’m in the mood for…. whatever your soul needs is what you should do on that day! I am an introvert, which can mean you like to stay in, but also that you need time without anyone else around. This includes your immediate family. Do not feel guilty about it either! When you have your “cup” filled, you can be a better wife/mom/chaos coordinator for your family.
MEET UP WITH A FRIEND OR TWO – WHAT?!
I know this one will maybe stir the pot, but sometimes ZOOM calls just do not cut it (there are still kids lurking nearby haha). I say this knowing that I have done this only three times, with only friends (2 others) who have also been social distancing like my family has, and we stay 6 feet apart from each other. And we just talk, in a driveway, a secluded parking lot, or now the beach. Sometimes it’s about the coronavirus, sometimes it’s about the latest kid antics and sometimes it’s about where we want go when this drama is over. Seeing someone else’s face makes me feel connected. And there is nothing like friends who “get” you, am I right?! I know this choice is not right for everyone and that’s ok. And please no yelling at me. I do care about others and am being very careful and have been at home etc. Mental health is very important, too! On a few occasions this is just the kind of self-care I needed.
DREAM
There is nothing wrong with a break from reality to dream about your next trip with or without the family. Doing some planning and research can be just what the “doctor” ordered. Check out our post on Birthdays at Magic Kingdom, as well as Things to Do at Animal Kingdom with Little Kids and a review on this beautiful restaurant in Anna Maria, which is a beach town off the coast of Tampa !
I hope at least a few of these self-care tips are ones you can use and implement our “new” normal day to day. My prayer is that we aren’t in the middle of a coronavirus crisis for very much longer but know that there is no right or wrong for what helps you get through your days! Happy social distancing friends!!
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Mary-Vivian
I put my makeup on everyday and stay away from the news 🙂