New normal

I’m sure we have all heard the words this is the new normal a million times by now. Also I can’t wait for things to go back to the way they were before. I’ve heard both of these statements everywhere. The truth is I don’t want things to go back to the way they were before.

Yes I just said that! I say that because before I felt the need to constantly be busy. My schedule was always full with whatever I could find. My child even adapted to this life style because it’s how I have raised him. For the first month of being at home he would wake up every morning and say “Mama where are we going today?” It’s what he was used to.

In my prayer time I remember feeling like I was sorting through a lot of feelings. I have dealt with things since moving to South Carolina that I didn’t really deal with prior. Things like anxiety, panic attacks, loneliness, feeling isolated, and a deep hurt of processing friendships changing and the reality of it all hitting me. The Lord asked me a tough question. Do you keep your schedule full because you enjoy it, or to avoid sorting through the things and feelings you need to? Ouch! I knew the answer right away.

This time at home has been spent in a lot of prayer time, reading my bible, worship time, some tough talks, journaling, and healing. These things were so needed! When my mind wasn’t constantly jumping to the next thing I had time to process through some things I had been needing to. It was so healthy for me to do this.

I’ve also had so much time with my little Lincoln. His personality, joy, and zest for life makes me so incredibly happy. I don’t want to miss out on these young years just getting down on the floor playing with him, exploring everything outside, and seeing his imagination come to life. I have done all these things with him daily as he grows, but now it’s for extended periods of time. I forgot to mention this time at home has allowed me the time to potty train him and he is officially fully potty trained!

My Mom and I have been quarantine buddies and had so much fun too. Baking all the things that I might need to stop eating all of, watching our shows together, playing with Linc, laughing, talking, and spending extra time together that I’m incredibly thankful for.

I’ve had time to have those extra conversations and time with my husband. We aren’t packing our weekends full anymore. Instead we are having the most precious time as a family together. Just the three of us!

This time at home and seeing what our world is going through is not something I expected to see in my lifetime.

My husband said these wise words and it really resonated with me- I’ve been thinking that we have to step back and realize what is happening right now is just a fracture of the big picture. It’s an opportunity to hit reset to make an evaluation of our own lives. It’s been an opportunity to get stronger spiritually, physically and mentally. It has allowed us to “cut the fat” of our lives and build healthy habits. Getting back to normal really means “get back to my normal habits”, but we really need to evaluate as things progress in our economy, what are the habits I need to make sure to keep during this time?

So as things begin to slowly reopen I encourage to take a hard look at what’s important. Take a hard look and see if everything in your schedule is necessary. Are you doing it because you want or need to, or to just will the days to go by quicker in hopes that deeper things will stay hidden?