LIFE UPDATE + 5 THINGS - RAE ANN KELLY

So many ramblings happening in my head lately and I haven’t been very good about keeping a journal so thought I’d type them out here and see if anyone can relate!

Pics are from one of our many walks to Dairy Freeze to grab fries and milkshakes. It’s my favorite thing to do when we need a dose of normalcy or just a break from making a snack or meal. Last week I sent the kids to grab chicken + fries for their lunch which honestly felt like a mini vacation to me and a field trip to them… Might have to do it again today!

5 THOUGHTS I’VE HAD LATELY:

What a gift the last two months have been! I’ve learned so much about my kids but also about myself. About our ability to work together. I mean, I think we all feel pretty accomplished that we’ve done it! We do it! We can do the home stuff, school stuff, work stuff, fun stuff, play stuff, workout stuff, together stuff, and do it well… at least part of the time. During a time when the days run together and the moments can feel (painfully) mundane, it’s good to recognize we are actually accomplishing something none of us ever imagined we’d have to do. You know?
I read the other day that dealing with lockdown is similar to dealing with grief in that there’s no right way to do it. I love that because it leaves no room for comparison of feelings of guilt — neither of which are productive normally anyways! And makes the emotional ups and downs (it’s an amusement park around here some days!) seem a little more normal, lol.
Following up on that emotional stuff. Anyone else have days of complete overwhelm from the hugeness of what’s going on? This is effecting the entire world overall, but it is effecting us all individually right down to little details of our lives. It’s crazy! Sometimes I hate it so much. Sometimes I’m SO THANKFUL for this time in history and that we’re living in it. But more than anything, as states and counties start to open up, I’m starting to see glimpses of the fallout from it all. The way it’s becoming so political (😭). The judgment for how individuals and families decide to move forward. THE ARGUING. THE FEARFULNESS. THE DRASTIC OPINIONS. It’s so not fun and yet it seems like some people are excited to have something to fight/complain/argue about. When it comes to politics I often feel like there’s no room for someone in the middle. Someone who likes to listen to other people’s thoughts and opinions, but also likes to ask questions and draw her own conclusion and has no desire to name call or make huge generalizations. It makes me want to hide. Preferably on a beach somewhere with my family and a cocktail. Who wants to join me!?
Johan and I are in total cahoots on this one even though I teased him about it at first. We hate zoom chats as a replacement for actual friend time. It’s depressing, awkward and depressing. Would rather chat on the phone, text or FaceTime for a few minutes. Love it for school and work though. SO CUTE when the kids are on with their classmates. Tilly has also been doing book club zooms with a few of the girls from her sports teams and eavesdropping on them is pretty much the best.
The rituals, the snuggles, the slow, the cooking (only wish it came sans cleaning), the homeschooling (most of the time), the walks, the bike rides, the family dinners, the saying yes to things that we would normally not have the time or bandwidth to do. Wish we could keep it all once our calendars start to fill up. Guess we’ll just have to be so, so purposeful and protective of our time!

GRATITUDE + PRAYER SIDE NOTE — It’s so good to give ourselves time to process feelings, but I don’t believe we should ever feel stuck or powerless in them. Whenever they do start to feel too heavy the best and only way I’ve found to get out from under them is through prayer and gratitude. It works every time. Always has! Always will!