When Life Goes Left

I have clients I cannot meet with. Events that have been canceled. Business that is now on the back burner. For all of us life as we know it has drastically shifted.

These are serious times that lie before us. Times that for many of us we have not been emotionally or mentally prepared to face. It has taken everything we can muster to stay positive amid the growing panic.

But the truth remains that nothing can be changed through constant worry and anxiety.

At some point, we just do the best that we can and make the best of what we have been given. I have decided to be productive and not depressed.

There is not a lot of work that can be done. Offices and companies have all shut down. Schools and nurseries are closed. Kiddos are home and normal life seems to be at a standstill. Life as we know it no longer exists. Nothing is as it was.

I realize that even going outside includes certain restrictions and precautions that can shift at any time depending on where we live in the country. But most of us can still sit on our porches and patios, open our windows, breath in fresh air and walk around our blocks and/or our neighborhoods if we stay far away from other people.

We can still exercise, either on our own or through a virtual class. We can call our friends and family through Facetime, share a laugh and even play a game or two with them. We can take our book clubs online, set up a Zoom or Google chat app and enjoy long conversations with anyone we like anywhere. We have the time now.

I am going to help my kids who live nearby. I plan to cook some old favorites for pickup and give them more time around the table since many of them are now working from home. We won’t be in this place always but while we are, we can all try to make the best of it with some daily objectives, projects, plans and activities to help keep the blues at bay.

Dusted off our old games from the closet. Forgot how good I am at Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots!

Shrimp Magazine

Richard handled the cooking cleanup, thanks!!

Last week we had the little ones take their wagon rides around the back yard and that seemed to suffice just fine. Richard pointed out small snails, butterflies and earth worms. We sat in the warm sunshine and got a lot of fresh air which was great as a mood enhancer for us all. I realize that most kid-friendly play pavilions are closed but nature isn’t. You can still grab that nature walk, even if it’s just traveling around your own yard a few times.

I don’t think my healthy snacks went over too well!

Just filling your lungs with fresh air and taking in the sunshine will make you feel that much better. Also, don’t forget about crafting, coloring, painting, scrapbooking, or decoupage projects. These are the fun things we always see in the hobby aisles but never feel like we have the time to try them.

Our own Picasso.

My daughter is home from college and taking her social distancing very seriously!

Now when you do get ready to enjoy a movie or that TV series binge night, make it something that you haven’t seen in a long time. Maybe go vintage and bring back some stuff you remember fondly from your childhood. It’s great to watch it again yourself or introduce your kids or grandkids to something new and fun.

My go-to show when I was a kid. Can’t wait to show the grandkids.

And we can finally get to those overrun closets that we keep talking about. Don’t know about you but this is always the vast wasteland of stuff I just can’t seem to part with. We don’t wear half that stuff anymore anyway! I have a ton of stuff to donate and other stuff to resell at the consignment store once we are back to normal. Yeah! For now, I am making my piles and packing the stuff into boxes to be taken out.

Lord have mercy I was really into stilettos for a moment there. Not sure what I was thinking!! How about you? What do you have lurking in the recesses of your closets? One man’s junk is always another man’s treasure!

We all have organizing projects that never see the light of day. Closets, garages, basements. Old Christmas ornaments, toys. You name it.

Life can be a roller coaster of scenarios. Tough times can unexpectantly come out of nowhere to knock us on our feet. But how we respond is totally up to us. We can either allow the heaviness to engulf us or we can choose instead to banish and brighten the encroaching darkness around us simply by our attitude and our faith.

We need to use wisdom. We need to stay prayerful. We need to extend our hands in ways that hold not only ourselves but others up. We need to be strong when everything around us is falling apart daily.

Spreading what’s good until we see the light at the end of the tunnel. And the light will come. Hope springs eternal!