Disclaimer: Mental health talk!! I am writing this blog one day after a day I felt like my mental health was at a low LOW. I want to be completely honest with you and let you know that this happens to all of us! You can be the most positive person in the world, have all the money and possessions, but you can still have a bad day, and think negative thoughts, and be down in the dumps. This is OK!

I go about my life living it the best way I can, taking care where I need to. I ignore the news and optimize my days, focusing on what I can control. But this does not negate the facts of what is actually going on in the world around me. And over time people talk, I gain information (even when unwanted), events happen that affect my life, plans change, our lives are disrupted, and it ALL builds up to where I can’t ignore it anymore. It can’t be ignored, I let myself have a really bad day. 

When my husband and I met up for our quick morning “adult chat” before Greye got up, I told him I am REALLY cranky. He said, “Me too”, and we came up with a plan for the next week that would help us get through the current challenge of school going remote for a week. This helped but I still felt angry and so defeated! Two years… Why are we sliding backwards? I did all the right things;vaccinations, boosters, my daughter was vaccinated and is in pool testing, but she still can’t go to school. Our vacation was canceled for the second time (!). Build up. Build up. Build up. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

1. Let yourself feel these feelings. Know you are not alone. It is ok to feel negative or helpless at times. This doesn’t make you weak!
2. Come up with a badass plan: Will and I came up with a plan of all the things that we can control. I cannot control school or any other person around me. I can only control myself. We made a plan for the week to the best of our ability and it felt good to have that plan in place.
3. Use your resources: Talk to friends, speak out about how you feel. It feels good to know that you are not alone and gain other people’s perspective. You also never know where you will speak to someone and be able to make your “Badass plan” better. We are so lucky to have a babysitter that is flexible and can help on short notice.
4. Do the best you can: Do the best you can and that’s ENOUGH. Done. Final. If you know you are doing the best you can, that’s it. Nothing left to feel or talk about. Don’t feel guilty about it. If you are giving the situation your all, that is enough. 
5. Let the growth happen: “Obstacles make me stronger”. I am going to learn the shit out of this situation. What can you gain?

After Willis and I came up with our remote school plan (which we are still adjusting) we realized this could be awesome. Yeah of course it is not ideal to bring your 6 year old to work with you, or to work from home with your daughter practicing her tap dancing while you are on a call. BUT we can learn so much and gain time with our child that we wouldn’t have if school wasn’t canceled. We can see into her school work and what a day would be like in the classroom. We can teach her from a different perspective and she can see what our lives are actually like at work while she’s at school. GROWTH. Right now I am about to finish this post and go through the remote learning packets to come up with a learning plan for my daughter this week. Lord knows I am not a teacher, but this doesn’t mean I can’t teach. Luckily we can choose to be whatever we want to be. Whatever situation you’re in, whatever you are feeling right now, FEEL IT, ACCEPT IT, and do the best you can! You got this!