So You Feel Like Your World Turned Upside Down? Rejoice!

Many people over the last few weeks or in the coming weeks will go from a crazy busy but normal routine one day, to what feels like a dead standstill the next. Events canceled, schools out, people told to work from home. Many people are scared. For younger people, it’s not so much the virus that scares many, but the unknown. A few weeks could put a lot of people in a terrible financial bind, but six months could be devastating.

There is so much unknown, but when you get rid of the fear, there can still be a glimmer of light, the silver lining.

Widows learn this is a widow blessing. Even in the darkest times, when you would give anything to have your husband alive again, you can still have a spark of joy that you can pick what’s on the TV or only buy your favorite chocolate. Rejoice in the things you can, when all is at its darkest.

No one wants this world to be this way. No one wants people to be sick and dying, or hourly workers to be unable to pay their rent. But without ignoring the bad, we all need to take a second to be in the moment and try to find the blessing. It maybe only be this way for two weeks and if you spend your time worrying you might miss the blessing of today, whether it goes back to normal or gets even worse.

Today, my daughter’s school closed for at least two weeks, church meetings are closed for two weeks, we are working remotely, and legislative session, which takes most of my hours in the spring, was suspended.

I’ve been running like crazy since January 6th and suddenly everything stopped. It would be easy to fret about work and health and food and … but I think it’s so much more important to stop, take stock of where we are, and enjoy the blessings of today. I finally get to do what I’ve always wanted to do, stay home with my daughter for at least two weeks. I can work from my back yard garden. I can pay my bills this month.

I could fret about the future or I could trust the only one who knows the future, and I could enjoy whatever time we have to be together.

But I must get one thing off my chest, when it comes to children, to those of you posting about the poor parents to have to survive life with their kids next week, I both feel sorry for you and want to punch you in the face. I’d give anything to get to do what I’ve always wanted to do, stay home with my child on a regular basis; but as a widowed mom, that is not an option and I have to leave her with others while I work. And those others are amazing and since this is my life, I wouldn’t have her with anyone else. I am not saying it’s easy to stay home with your children, but I’d trade hard for more time with her any day, any time. You clearly, don’t realize how fast it can all be gone. So joke or vent or whatever, but I’m going to treasure these next few weeks, because better or worse, we don’t know what happens tomorrow. So enjoy what is special today.