Calm In The Chaos

Is it just me, or is anyone else having a hard time remembering what day it is? With all of the changes that have happened in the last few weeks, this month has seemed like a decade. 

I’m not going to sugar coat it; the world is a terrifying place. It is a completely different place than it was 4 weeks ago. The Costco trips my family used to look forward to, are now filled with fear and anxiety to not get too close to someone, touch too many things, or heaven forbid you have to clear your throat. I have to tell my 3-year-old, “no honey we can’t go ask if we can pet that puppy” while he cries, because he doesn’t understand social distancing. 

Every day that passes, we are told something new in regards to shut downs, restrictions, statistics, and it’s all very overwhelming and scary. We know what’s going on and are having a hard time grasping the gravity of the situation. Our grandparents are stuck inside, our friends are cancelling weddings, birthday parties, and now partners might not be allowed in hospital rooms during the birth of their children. 

Schools have been shut down, graduations possibly cancelled, medical school students had to do “match day” virtually. Moments that families should be together, celebrating, embracing, are now being done via skype or video calls because a handshake could be the difference between home and a hospital to some. This is a time unlike anything that us, our parents, and even our grandparents have ever encountered. 

Our children know they can’t go to school, go to playdates, etc. I’m sure to some extent they know what is going on, they’re already sad and scared. Now is the time us as parents need to help our children find some calm in this chaos. Build forts in the middle of the living room that stay up all week, dance party in the kitchen while making dinner, start a movie a little late and let them stay up to finish it. Use the time you would normally be getting the kids ready for school, and call your grandparents, send them something your kids made them, let them feel the love even though right now it has to be from afar. Facetime your parents, let them tell the kids stories, help teach the kids something new. Allow technology to work for us, and keep us from feeling less isolated during this isolation.

Yes, this is scary, for all of us, but we are in this together. We can still find some peace and light in this seemingly dark place right now. We just have to look for it in different places. 

Payge is a military wife, as well as a mom of a 3-year-old boy named SJ, also known as the tiny tornado, and is due with a little girl in March. She loves true crime, Harry Potter, and Mexican food (not necessarily in that order.) She is originally from Temecula, California but has planted roots in Bluffdale, Utah. She has a strong passion for mental health awareness as well as promoting body positivity and self-love, while still enjoying tacos. She has been a long-time follower and member of the Mamahood Community, and hopes to use this space to help others.