My oldest child was born right before 9/11 and now will be graduating high school during #covid19. One thing I have thought of is the anxiety I had surrounding those early days of breastfeeding as I watched too many hours of television news, waiting to see if any survivors would be pulled from underneath the rubble of the Twin Towers in my homestate. I see some folks feeling the same way about this time and age, only perhaps doing it through social media instead of television. Times such as these can lead us to feel helpless, anxious, isolated, depressed.
You are not alone.
If you are struggling to adjust to a new normal, you are not alone.
If you aren’t used to being home and it seems really difficult, I promise it will get easier.
If you now have to juggle being at your job more hours on top of finding a new home life, hopefully it will feel more at ease soon.
I think we could be in for a long haul. If places have been doing social distancing, depending upon the state, the uptick in cases will hit two weeks from now, plus the time after that to see who needs to be hospitalized to recover. So, I think this time of distancing may be longer than originally hoped or planned for, which can feel overwhelming.
My favorite ways to thrive during these times of uncertainty….
Get grounded. We aren’t having church at our place of worship, but I can still have my own little home church daily. I can still use apps for meditation, and I can still do it outside where I feel most connected to nature.
Form a rhythm for your family that includes outside time , rest and sleep. I think turning off social media and finding soothing and connecting things to do can be so helpful.
Keep the living space ordered – ordered an outside space can really bring an inner calm.
Have warming foods that are nutritionally supportive. Eating healthy supports the body.
Include music making as a family, handwork, and creative projects along with puzzles and games to be together.
Love to you all,
Carrie
The Parenting Passageway 
This was lovely. Please keep writing.
On Tue, Mar 17, 2020 at 7:14 PM The Parenting Passageway wrote:
> Carrie posted: “My oldest child was born right before 9/11 and now will be > graduating high school during #covid19. One thing I have thought of is > the anxiety I had surrounding those early days of breastfeeding as I > watched too many hours of television news, waiting t” >
Thank you as always for sharing your light!
>
Thanks, Carrie I look forward to reading more. 🙂 Once again I’m reminded of the basics. Role modeling as best I can (less device time, etc.). I laugh at the idea of role modeling– they’re the ones role modeling for us! Right now my girls are making up “newspapers” with different sections and focusing on calligraphy, food recipes, weather and travel ideas. They’re living each moment. Fortunately we have an abundance of outdoors here and so on our good weather days we’ve been taking advantage of trails and mountains. My whole family is in NYC and I’ve just had to pull back from the news as I am so concerned for their health and months ahead…and there is nothing I can really do for them but encourage them to stay healthy and do the right thing.
We are looking for ways to do for others as a way to mitigate this situation. My husband and I are helping out at a food pantry (boxes being put together with social distancing in mind and delivered outdoors), visiting our elderly neighbors (from a distance). My daughters Irish danced for our neighbors yesterday and it was so wonderful!!
I wonder what us homeschool parents can (safely) offer family and friends who are now at home with their children, so unexpectedly. Especially those right in our neighborhoods….Would love to hear what you think!
Sheila
Wonderful to hear! I think what we can offer our friends and neighbors is our support and assurance that it is going to turn out okay, especially for those parents with pretty small children who are stressed out. It is a little harder for high schoolers who are worried about being on track for scholarships for college, etc. So I think the best thing we can offer everyone is that sense of normalcy and hope. We have also donated food to our county to help cover meals that children in school normally rely on! I think be open and available for questions! Blessings and love, Carrie
Carrie, thank you for your inspiration and I’m so sorry for your senior. It was so helpful to hear your words in this time of uncertainty, I have missed your posts.
Thank you so much Gerri for your kind words. Blessings, Carrie
Thank you Carrie.
Your words have been inspiring to me for years. I have great respect for your views, and appreciate your sharing. I feel like I knew what you would say in this note before opening it. But it still helps reinforce what I need to be doing right now to help myself and my family.
Take care.
On Tue, Mar 17, 2020 at 10:14 PM The Parenting Passageway wrote:
> Carrie posted: “My oldest child was born right before 9/11 and now will be > graduating high school during #covid19. One thing I have thought of is > the anxiety I had surrounding those early days of breastfeeding as I > watched too many hours of television news, waiting t” >
Thank you so much for your kind words! Blessings, Carrie
Thank you Carrie! Blessings to you!