This winter has been brutal. Other than three very underappreciated sick-free days, someone in my family has been sick since the New Year’s ball dropped. This was after we passed around several bugs this fall. It is fair to say beyond the physical toll on our bodies, our mental health is struggling. Normally, I enjoy cold-weather activities, but winter blues rang strongly this year in our household. It’s been difficult to get through the bare minimum needed to fulfill our work and survival obligations let alone think about self-care. It’s only been in the past couple weeks that I finally realized not providing any self-care was only hurting our family. The following list is by no means a life/blues fix. It is merely a short-term survival strategy I’ve implemented allowing me to see the light of the end of the Winter Plague of 2018 tunnel.
Make Home-Life Easier
Gone are any illusions of a Pinterest-ready house. When one to every member of your family is down for the count with an illness, you have to be happy with simply disinfecting and removing germs not clutter. I’ve also simplified laundry. It’s a win for me just to provide clean clothing. I’m avoiding wearing things that need pressed and dry-cleaned. Don’t tell my mother, but I’m even combining whites and colors! Even simple things help get us to daycare/work on time. I’ve been both brushing my teeth and doing my hair in the kitchen. This way I can supervise the kids and get ready while my husband is showering. Every minute counts in the morning!
The biggest short-term fix my family is lucky enough to afford to utilize is a meal delivery service. Sure, it would be way more cost-efficient to go to the grocery and make these meals from scratch but that takes time to go to the store and to portion ingredients. Further, the mental energy to plan healthy well-rounded meals is not something I have right now. In the past when we have gotten sick, we’ve found ourselves rushing out to get fast food at the last minute or eating a lot of frozen pizzas. Definitely, not eating the vegetables and fruits our bodies need to heal. While it’s not a long-term solution for our family, providing nurturing food is one less thing that has weighed on me.
Take A Moment Alone to Breathe
It’s so simple and effective, but I still needed to remind myself to start doing this. When I’ve been sick or have been up all night with sick kids, my patience wears thin, extremely thin. Little things at work or the outside world going wrong can trigger overreactions without rest and a clear mind. I cherish small moments alone and let my body feel my deep breaths go through it. An extra minute in my office before leaving for court, sitting in my car at the daycare parking lot and even looking in the mirror of the bathroom at my own home.
Friday Night Movie Nights
While I wouldn’t call myself anti-screen time, I am far from pro-screen time. But when you are in survival mode, sometimes your boundary lines blur. Watching a family movie on Friday nights has been our reward for simply making it through another week. Mommy and Daddy are too tired to plan anything else, and the excitement of watching a movie together is the highlight of my three-year old’s week. I figure the extra rest without boredom is good for all of us, even if that means watching Moana for the sixth time.
High-Five Each Other (Or Else You’ll Cry)
Oh, how true this is for my family. There have been so many moments the past few months that out of misery we have started to turn on each other. To combat that, we’ve started high-fiving each other for little accomplishments instead. We did the dishes! High-Five! You put away your trucks! High-Five! Everyone took a shower today! High-Five! We are less late for work today than we were yesterday! High-Five! Whether it’s the preschooler or the adults, we can all use the self-confidence boost of a little appreciation.
My hope for everyone is that we get through this terrible season of germs with our health back. That we appreciate the moments of relief, and that we remember these are small moments in our life. Let’s appreciate being a family right now, and look forward to the healthy, fun days ahead of us!
