The Search for Balance while in Crisis

Before I begin this post, I would like you to understand that I am a Christian. This post is not about being a Christian, or an attempt to convert you if you are not one; it is simply a fact that I may reference, and some may feel uncomfortable with. If so, that uncomfortable feeling is your problem to be resolved, not mine. It is your absolute right to not agree with me, just as it is my absolute right to not agree with you, should we find ourselves at that point. At any rate, what this post is about is seeking a balance while in crisis.

Quarantine is NOT a "New Normal"

And if you ever believe that it should be, I urge you to reach out to friends, neighbors, and family to join in some form of social engagement. While I know that there are people who prefer to be left alone to live their lives, who do not want close neighbors or family, we humans are still social animals and need interaction. And I for one need to be able to congregate with those I consider to be friends and colleagues, and not simply meet up in Google Hangouts. This said, I will admit that I am not crazy with how quickly politicians and many people want to "reopen" the economy. It is still a pandemic. But I agree with my oncologist who believes that Covid-19 will become a part of our ongoing experience, like the flu, and we need some "societal" exposure in order to begin building immunity to this virus. I hope that makes sense as you read it. It made sense in my head, but...

In fact, I am not "in quarantine", and haven't been, truly. I have, and will continue for now, taken precautions such as wearing masks, but I have also been going to stores, supporting restaurants  with takeout orders, and otherwise getting out and interacting. So, why the masks? I am one of those who is at higher risk. I may be in remission, but my immune system is still VERY low. So, while I will not criticize those who are choosing not to mask up, I thank those who do. If you are one of the former, don't criticize the latter, and vise-versa, please. And, perhaps strangely, I consider this part of the seeking of balance - interacting with strangers in stores still counts as social interaction.

Finding the Work-Home Balance

There is also this new mass effort that is ongoing for finding a balance between a "work day" and family life when we don't get to leave the house. It's interesting to me that we have not had more reports of domestic violence than we've heard. I pray that this is because we as a social animal have evolved a bit faster recently, and not because of under reporting. I also suspect it may be because liquor stores were not considered "essential businesses". I wonder if this has helped some sober up?

At any rate, I find it increasingly difficult as a teacher to keep to a schedule of work hours and family hours without having class bells going off! My work day now starts with my first cup of coffee, and with limited breaks for meals or helping with my father-in-law, continues until well into the evening. The work also looks very different! I spend very little time day to day on grading or assigning lessons. So it is all computer work as I prep for next year as an interventionist, and work on our teacher-author business, all while assisting Suzanne and her sister with their father as needed. Fortunately, the prep work and the teacher-author work is closely related, and I do most of this work overlooking bird feeders and squirrel trees. So, I can enjoy the outside as well. 

And there is a lot of prayer and contemplation going on. As I said in a previous post, we lost Suzanne's mother last month, and her father is not doing well.

How about you?

What are you doing to find balance? I hope that while social media may well be helping, you are still finding other, more meaningful(?) methods of coping. We would love for you to share with us. One of our work family has pretty much completely remodeled her house on her own! Maybe Joanna Gaines can put her on the Magnolia Channel...