Is it me or did this pandemic completely change how you parent? First of all, I can't believe that we are approaching one year of our entire life changing. When I say life, I am referring to our freedoms, our choices, and of course our sanity. So let's talk about some things that I have found helpful and I hope you find it helpful as well.
Find Peace- with everything going on stress levels are at an all time high. No one is coming to save you from you. And if they do, it'll of course be social distance style and also at a risk of a large fine. (Hope you don't mind my pandemic humour haha). So the best thing to do is to simply find peace with the reality of your day to day norm. By doing so, you'll save yourself from unnecessary stress about the same damn thing every single day.
Anxiety control- the reality is that you CANNOT go through this pandemic without anxiety knocking on your door. So have a plan for when anxiety comes so you can put your plan into action. Personally, anxiety control has meant getting serious about my fitness goals. When I'm feeling anxious I just workout. Working out doesn't have to mean lifting weights or anything intense. For me working out can sometimes just be in the form of dancing or stretching. Three minutes here and another five minutes there and you'd be surprised how well you have managed your anxiety by directing your attention to something else for a moment. If you're not able to dance or stretch then just treat yourself. I have to admit, I treat myself quite often. A cookie a day will keep the anxiety away!
Let it go- the little people at home are bound to drive you crazy. So my best advice is to stop sweating the small stuff. They're going to naturally do things to drive you crazy because they are kids and often we expect them to act like adults. It's literally unreasonable for us to expect them to not act like kids. I'm going to be honest with you all and let you know that is has been the MOST challenging for me. I have to remind myself DAILY that they're just kids and that their world has changed too. So every now and then when I find myself getting upset with my kids because they're being kids I take a deep breath and ask myself if it's worth the extra stress. Most times it's not worth the stress and I'm able to let it go. Other times, unfortunately there's a lecture or punishment to be had. The last thing I want is for my kids to be wild animals when reintroduced into society LOL!
Moving on, the one thing I am thankful for because of this pandemic is that I have become a better mom. Some days it's questionable based on the fact that it is a constant struggle to not lose my shit. But other days I'm able to reflect on how we are doing and regardless of the tantrums, online classes, and everything else that comes with being a parent during a pandemic I think we are actually doing ok. My children are well loved, they have a full understanding of what is going on, and at the start of every day we TRY OUR BEST! So I'll leave you with that. Try your best! What happened yesterday doesn't have to defy how tomorrow will be. And what happens today doesn't justify an entire day. Often times, the day ain't over yet so there's still time to try our best. Also, don't forget to check in with yourself to find out how you're doing and what you need to do and be your best you.
If you enjoyed this post and want to see more, SUBSCRIBE & check out my YOUTUBE CHANNEL (DEE AND FAM- www.youtube.com/deeandfam ) to see what I'm up to between my blog posts. SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel if you haven't already. Don't forget to SHARE my posts & videos with everyone you know!
LOVE,
DEE