HAPPY SUNDAY!! Okay guys, yesterday was Saturday and it was a DOOZY. I think the school closings, news, and straight up nation-wide panic was settling into my head and it was the first time I had a chance to process it all. I went to go make eggs, then decided maybe cereal was easier…went to go do laundry, then decided I wanted to vacuum… I was in such a brain fog I had to lay down. Couldn’t sleep of course, but rested with my eyes close for a solid hour. I got up and the fog continued. After the kids went to bed, I texted my labor + delivery nurse friends (who are both also pregnant and literally due within days of me) and asked them to talk to me off the ledge… They are all nervous, too.
My stress points aren’t so much from the virus itself, and that’s because we are doing everything we can do stay healthy. We are following social distancing, more like quarantining ourselves which everyone should be doing right now to #flattenthecurve (more on that later, get ready, mama bear is coming OUT) and we are being diligent about all of our wellness measures which include sleeping, eating well, taking our supplements and vitamins, getting outside in the fresh air, using our immune-supporting essential oils on repeat, etc… This is the control I can exercise over all this and that alone reduces panic and keeps me confident and somewhat calm about the health of our family.
My main stress points have a lot to do with everyone else and the hospitals which I will be an occupant of in about one month to deliver our baby via c-section because my placenta previa has not budged.
- Will the hospitals become overrun with sick patients and become a disaster (like what’s happening in Italy)?
- Will the doctors and nurses I know and trust be able to perform my c-section? Or no because they likely will have contracted this thing by then?
- Will my baby will get it from being in the hospital?
- Will my mom somehow get it? She’s been in complete quarantine now for almost two weeks because she is immunosuppressed with a lung condition.
These are things out of my control, there’s absolutely NOTHING I can do so I’ve gotta just train my brain to think positively because what’s my alternative…stress which is bad for me and the baby, and for my whole family. I’m not going to even get into the large worldly issues because I certainly have even less control about those.
With only the little influence I have, I will do what I can to encourage others to STAY HOME to #flattenthecurve because we know that it is the only way to slow the spread of this thing so that the largest issue which is our medical system being overrun with hysteria can be lessened. If at this point, you’re not taking all possible measures to practice social distancing, i.e. if you’re moving forward with your planned social events and gatherings, I hope that changes quickly for you. Even if no one you know is ill, there is an incubation period when the virus spreads, therefore, none of us know who could be sick so it’s in the WORLD’S BEST INTEREST, if you forego your social life right now. I get it, it sucks. People are cancelling weddings, vacations they’ve been waiting YEARS to take, birthdays, etc… It’s a short time we’re asking Americans to be at home, so please, please abide by the guidelines.
So there, I got the negative out. Let’s move onto positive thinking about this whole thing. Since we’re all taking the proper measures to stay safe and control this thing, let’s talk about the gift it is to stay home during this time. And yes, it’s a gift if you can stay home right now because there are so many who can not. Everyone in the medical industry, the doctors, nurses, PA’s, hospital cafeteria workers, receptionists, police, fire fighters and all first responders, baristas at Starbucks, grocery store employees, companies who refuse to close down and so therefore their employees must report in, etc… All these people who can not stay home to be with their families need YOU to stay home to make their jobs more safe. So when I say it’s a gift, it is! Even if your kids drive you nuts, you will look back at this time and hopefully remember it with fond memories that you’re able to make with your family. Life is so, so busy and our kids will eventually all want to be anywhere but home, so now is when we all have no choice but to be home, let’s make it count.
This is such a good time for simplicity. Often times I feel like there is so much pressure to be here or there, take the kids to this new exhibit, sports practices galore, schedules to adhere to, birthday parties to be at. For now, for this very brief time, we have NOWHERE to be 🙌🏻Right now, my kids are having a “picnic” in front of Pinocchio (get Disney + if you don’t have it) while I write this blog post. I’m still in my pajamas and I’m drinking my coffee. This is such a gift!!! There is laundry piled up, there is lots of packing to do before we move (in two weeks 🤪) but I have the gift of time right now. This baby is coming in about a month, what a gift it is to be quarantined at home with my older two with no other distractions before newborn life turns us all upside down.
Over the next two weeks, I get to be their teacher. I’ll be able to get a close up into how they are learning at school. Under no other circumstances would I get this chance unless I decided to homeschool which isn’t in the cards right now, and so I’m looking at it as a gift. Sure, it will be trying at times and I’m 8 months pregnant and tired at this point, but it’s a very short window of time and soon things will go right back to normal.
I feel very fortunate to be in this position where I can stay home with my kids right now, and if you’re in my same boat, I hope you do, too. I hope you appreciate it and look at it as a gift because know there are so, so many who would trade places with you in a second if they could.
This is a wild time, and we need each other. Let’s be kind, stay positive, and STAYHOME!