Lock-downs, Layoffs and Life Changes

CoVid-19 has affected us all in one way or another and life as we know it is changing rapidly, leaving little in our control. Life as we know it is changing, we are socially distancing to flatten the curve, but to what extent.

"Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured... spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to."— Susan Cain

Today is Easter and while many are sharing their words of love and encouragement on social media, many are also sharing their frustration of another special day ruined by the lock down due to CoVid-19. I get it too, we all have faced some sort of change from having to home school, being laid off, or having to work while your kids must stay at home hoping you don’t bring home the virus. Life as we know it is changing, rapidly and daily it seems. Even for a military mom whose motto is “this is a new normal” when things are constantly changing. This brings it to a whole new level, we are frustrated, confused and scared.

Fear is common when change occurs, but what happens when change is beyond our control? How do we adapt when we aren’t even sure what to adapt too? How do we survive when we can’t leave our homes due to a compromised immune system, or we have been laid off or furloughed? How do we pay bills, rent, mortgages? Those are the fears taking over as we have no idea when all of this will end. I see so many staying so positive on social media and I enjoy those posts because I try to absorb that energy, then I see the posts of the fear financially. We are facing challenging times and it can truly break the strongest down. Life is changing and the expense of our sanity and way of life.

We all are facing moments where a loved one’s birthday isn’t celebrated as normal, a senior is missing graduation, the elderly is left alone in the nursing home, loved ones are dying alone. This is affecting every one of us in some form or another. Some of us can work from home and some can find new jobs that will help until the layoffs end, then there are some of us who can’t or maybe some who shouldn’t be leaving the house due to compromised immune systems but need to so we have a place to live. Life is changing and at the expense of everything we know.

Then we have the ones who say this is your time to be productive at home, move mountains from your laptop. While this seems so perfect to do and achieve all the things you couldn’t do while working, not everyone is equipped to handle this new way of life. Some are battling depression whether chemical or situational and this provides to be a very challenging time for them. We need to reach out to friends, family and co-workers and so mental health checks on everyone, even the strongest. We also need to not beat ourselves up if we binged watched our favorite show instead of painting the house or starting a new company from home. It is OK if you didn’t do laundry today or left the dishes in the sink. I for one love to clean and I am honestly so sick of seeing dishes I considered throwing out my plates versus washing them. I literally spent the entire day on the couch in the same PJs for two days and finally showered a day and half later. That’s OK, this is new territory for us, and it will take time to get used to this new normal. Time for us to figure out how to spend our time, how to resume life stuck inside four walls.

Life is changing and our way of living it is adjusting. We are finding what’s important and what can be changed. We may have even had some far-fetched ideas, like in my house when we thought we should just get and RV and drive all over the US. I mean why not we are used to surviving with little to no pay and soon paying rent will be impossible. We all have stressors, anxiety, depression and fear from all this occurring around us. I could say yes let’s support each other, be there for each other but, we are trying to be there for ourselves first. Everyone copes differently and these changes are at the expense of everything we knew about life. No one knows what will happen or when this will end, we can have faith, hope and optimism but for now we just need to be and not judge others for how they are coping. If Susan wants to drink 2 bottles of wine each day to get through it well who are we to say no. If Bob wants to recite bible passages, why would we condemn him. We need to learn to stay in our lane, handle our households and be friends to each other. This is our new normal and we just need to take it one day at a time. So Happy Easter!!!