Life will always have it challenges, but I don’t think I’m alone in saying that right now is exceptionally difficult. The global pandemic, racial injustice, offensive rhetoric, and political mayhem are almost too much to bare. The intense division among Americans is palpable. Whether you live in a small, big, rural or urban part of the world, we’re all feeling this unsettling pit in our stomachs. Fatigue has set in, and it’s up to us how we handle it.
I’ll be honest. As a 41 year old mother of a 5, 3 and 10 month old with a husband working from home…..I AM EXHAUSTED. Our baby boy has lived his entire little life in quarantine. Most of our family members haven’t even met him. Lucy, our oldest, has been in virtual school since early September, and there isn’t a day that goes by where she doesn’t ask when the coronavirus will be gone, and when can we get our vaccines. Yes, she’s a smart one. Alice, our middle child, is missing out socialization opportunities, and my heart constantly breaks for everything she’s not participating in.
Our small struggles pale in comparison to the current state of the world and the challenges most people are facing, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have hard days. What do we do on those hard days? We get up, get dressed and show up because for all of those “off” days, there are wonderfully beautiful days with many special moments intertwined. Through all of the struggles, we’ve been given the gift of time. To quote the old adage, the days are long, but the years are short, and that couldn’t ring more true with our son’s 1st birthday quickly approaching.
When I look into the eyes of our 3 blessings, I see beacons of hope. Hope for vaccines and herd immunity, hope for racial equality, hope for a unified nation, and the list goes on. I leave you with this. If you wake up, and are having a bad day, know that you’re not alone. Put one foot in front of the other and just keep swimming my friends.
