we are all going through some weird feelings and emotions right now. i thought i would share a few of the smaller things that are keeping me going right now. as much as it’s good being with loved ones it’s hard and when you’re trying to semi-educate and entertain a toddler and continue working and have an unwell partner at home who has been laid off and doesn’t know when he’s going to next get paid any money – well, these become testing and trying times for all of us.
many people have said they have no self care in place right now or i am seeing their partners aren’t helping at home or getting frustrated with the kids when they’re trying to work. it’s really rubbish and i imagine there are a lot of relationships and marriages feeling the strain right now. please support each other, continue to communicate and let the other half know what you’re struggling with. it is hard finding a schedule that suits everyone, and encouraging everyone to get involved. honestly, the mental load has never felt quite so strong right now. just the other day adam asked me where a sweet treat for felix was, whilst he was in the kitchen and i was annoyed because it’s apparently my responsibility to tell him rather than him looking for something properly. it seems trivial but these sort of things are going to feel so much worse with the current situation being what it is.
we are all feeling the tension, stress and anxiety and so i encourage you to try and practise some form of self care if and when you can. use your time to have a walk alone, if you can, or a run, a jog. have a bath, read a few chapters of a book, lock yourself a way for 15 minutes and sob into a pillow. cook something, or don’t. have a nap. just try and fins something each day that you’re doing that makes you feel better.
so anyway more to the point here are a few things i am trying to do just to help
cooking a fresh meal with our hello fresh/gousto boxes – i know these are hard to get hold of right now and not everyone can get one but these have been so helpful to us. we’ve got fresh ingredients, it limits us going to the store, it’s contactless delivery with the courier and gives us a portion or two of veg. the actual action of preparing and cooking a meal properly is something i’ve missed and lacked on over recent years. we are all trying new foods, some have been hit or miss, but it’s something that we are enjoying.
facetiming and checking in with family. we have a couple of whatsapp groups with friends and family, we have facetime and whatsapp video calling. seeing people on camera really helps give a bit of normality to everyone that we can’t spend time with right now.
playing video games. it’s something we’ve always done and now we have playstation now we can revisit a few old games we’ve missed or haven’t tried yet. it’s a bit of actionable escapism. it stops us going out. there are multiplayer options too so we can all get involved. we got felix his own toy controller so he joins in too.
reading books. this is very much part of my self care, i have a kindle and a fully stocked to be read shelf which i’m getting through nicely. i’ve also got some audiobooks and some fun playlists to listen to whilst cooking or tidying up. having a good sing a long to some fun favourites is helping keep our spirits up.
a note on book boxes and deliveries. many of the things i’ve ordered or i’m expecting to deliver this month have been on order since the start of march when things were still hard to get hold of with all the delays going on. they’re now coming through with my subscriptions. i have thought about pausing some of these but also it’s that little bit of normality that is keeping me going. it’s very tough because the supply and demand keeps people in work – but the supply was interupted, and it’s also a smaller business, rather than a chain shop. it’s hard because it’s like helping out smaller businesses in these times is keeping businesses afloat but on the other hand it’s making people work, and then again it’s also keeping couriers, often on zero hour contracts or no sick pay, in work and earning for their families. a bit of a snowball affect really.
we will also be getting easter eggs for the kids and doing a small easter egg hunt in the flat. we never have before, well, we got easter eggs, but not a hunt, and it will be alongside an essential shop, because i think it’s really important to give kids some normality too. older ones will know what easter is about but not quite get why they can’t have an easter egg even though they are still in the shops.
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