Another Week Of Crazy...

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Hi!



Well, another week of this craziness has passed and, for the most part, we are still here.


How are you?


The stats seem to come at us at warp speed accompanied each time with new and more constricting rules of conduct.

Common sense dictates that we keep our distance from each other, wash our hands more than we would normally do, and stay at home unless we absolutely have to.

With the closing of schools, restaurants, bars, and pretty much every other social gathering place, it's easy for it to feel pretty doomsday adjacent.

You see photos of abandoned streets, and closed signs. We are being bombarded, hit over the head with everything we can no longer do, all of the things and activities we are having to give up.

Although menopause would like to make a liar out of me at times, at my core, I'm not an anxious person, and as OCD goes, well, whatever the opposite of that is, that's probably what I have. I mean, do I like my counter full of dishes? No. Is it a big deal if dishes wait until the next day because I'm playing with my grandbabies? Also no.

I do, however, have family members who do suffer from different aspects of these disorders and I can tell you, this is super hard on them. On the upside, they are already very accustomed to wiping down grocery carts before using them, not touching public handrails on stairways or escalators, rarely using public washrooms, well, you get the idea.

They, under normal circumstances, already feel certain levels of anxiety when traveling, or dealing with being in a crowd.

Under normal circumstances.

Those of you who love these people, they are going to need you. Those of you who are these people, please reach out. (In a social distancing responsible way, of course.)


Now, we are, for the next while, going to have to spend a lot of time in close quarters with those we love most, with little to no physical interaction with pretty much anyone else.

Having kids at home and trying to make up for what they are missing at school is going to be tough if not impossible. Unless you're a teacher, but even then...

I've seen a bunch of free resources available online, which will help, for sure, but please cut yourself some slack. Kids absorb everything that's going on around them at a level most adults are unaware of. They are soaking up your worry, your stress, your fear. It's okay to have fun.

Follow a recipe.

It's reading, it's science, it's math, it's developing life skills. Boom.

Build a fort.

It's physics, it's geometry, it's architecture, it's space-awareness. Boom.

Play dress-up.

Okay, this one's just straight-up fun, but developing and encouraging imagination is good for the soul. There, ethics. Boom.

Go outside.

Backyards can be magical places if you let them. Nature studies. Boom.


The point is, even if this feels like the end of the world at times, it's really not. It's simply a struggling stretch of time that history books and humanity will reflect upon and hopefully, learn from. 

The way in which we choose to walk through it will be indelibly etched upon our children, becoming a big part of their stories, a chapter of profound importance.

They look to us, the adults. They'll have questions. Answer them, but don't over-answer them. Give them the information they are looking for using clear, age-appropriate language, but don't give them more than they are asking for. Same basic guidelines as questions about sex.


If you are working from home, don't feel guilty about a cartoon babysitter. Hell, even if you're not working from home. These are weird times presenting unique problems that need to be solved creatively.

Nothing about this is normal. You don't have to try to treat it like it is.

Just do your best.

Let's all just do our best, and give each other a reassuring hug when it's over.

For my part, I'll be throwing a bit of entertainment in the direction of your littles by way of a Facebook live storytime on Monday, March 23 at 9:30 am CST. It will be coming to you from my living room on my www.margyreidbooks.com Facebook page.


See you then!


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May you find new and creative ways to settle the squabbles of your offspring.
May you keep yourself zen, as you peel spaghetti off the ceiling.

May we all support each other, leaving every single judgment at the door.
We got this.

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www.margyreidbooks.com