A Year of Survival

Wow!  I can’t believe it has been 6 months since I wrote a blog post.  The last year has been chaotic, to say the least.  I am sure that others are feeling the stress right now with Covid-19, the economy, working from home, and teaching kids from home.  Here is a little about what has happened in my life the last year.  I seriously feel like it has been a year of survival.

Baby number Four

I am currently pregnant with baby number 4.  The beginning of my pregnancies are pretty horrible.  All I can physically handle doing is lying on the couch.  Pretty much the only reason I would get up is to throw up or go to the bathroom.  I lost 15 pounds, which is usually about what I lose at the beginning of every pregnancy.  I was off of work during this time because I couldn’t even take care of myself, let alone take care of patients. My husband didn’t quite have to physically spoon feed me, but it was close. He had to do everything, which he did without complaint, but it is definitely a change for him to have to cook every meal.  (Let’s face it, I am the cook in the house.  His idea of cooking is frozen pizza, mac n cheese or chicken nuggets.  Nothing wrong with these foods on occasion, but they are not terribly nutritious).  I really feel like, for 4 months, I just did what I could to physically survive.  I think I am getting too old for this pregnancy thing.  Since I am in my middle thirties, they call it a geriatric pregnancy.  I really hate that word, geriatric.  Ha!

Covid-19 Crisis

Just when I start feeling 100% again, Covid-19 happens.  Covid-19 has dramatically changed the way we all live.  Now, I know there are many opinions out there about how we should be living our lives right now, and I am not here to debate anything.  My thought is, you do what is best for yourself, your family and your community.  Physically protect as many people as possible while not sacrificing your mental health.  This is a huge one.  Your mental health should be as much of a priority as your physical health.  Being a psychiatric nurse, this is very dear to my heart.  If you are struggling, please seek help.  You should not have to do this alone.  

Quarantine is difficult.  As humans, we are not built to be isolated from one another.  It has been hard for me to stay away from my family and be home with my 3 kids twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.  Some days I feel like we are just surviving the day. I was furloughed at work for about 6 weeks, so I have literally been home this whole time, other than to do my grocery pick-up and pick up distance learning packets from the school.  However, my kids aren’t the main reason it has been so hard for me to be home all the time. It is because I am an extrovert.  My kids have actually been pretty good through all of this.  Of course they have their days when they don’t want to do their distance learning, but, for the most part, they have taken this complete change in routine very well. (Better than me, probably).

Other Difficult Events

If I look back one year, my life really hasn’t been “normal” for quite some time. It truly has been a year of survival for me. (There were always good times too, of course, but the bad times seem to stick out more this year). My dad had a couple of medical issues last year, one being sepsis, which was very scary (he is doing well now), my grandmother passed away in June, my son had a cardiac ablation done in August, my work was hit by a tornado in September while I was working (which was one of the scariest experiences of my life), and then in November my cousin’s two teenage daughters were killed in a tragic car accident. The loss of these two beautiful girls is so heartbreaking.  I wish I could change what happened, but I can’t. These two young ladies that were killed were amazing, faith filled, young women.  Their whole family misses them dearly. 

I write about all of these events, not for people to feel sorry for me, but just to give a little perspective on why I haven’t had blogging as a top priority in my life.  I do still love to blog and create recipes, but that might look a little different for a while, especially after baby number four comes along. 

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Meal Planning in the Chaos

Through this year of survival, the one thing that has been routine for me (except for the 3 or so months that I was too puking sick to cook) is my meal planning.  I realize this seems trivial compared to everything else, but it seriously grounds me.  It makes me happy and makes my life so much easier.  I need to have some sort of normalcy amongst the chaos.  

Meal planning has been especially helpful in recent weeks, due to Covid-19, since ordering groceries further in advance is a necessity.  Plus, one trip to the store per week is probably best.  (We live on a farm so we only do one trip to the store per week anyways, but for some people, that is a huge change).  If you have never done meal planning before, I urge you, do it now!  (If you need some great resources, check out Thriving Home, From Freezer to Table, From Freezer to Cooker and always check out my blog.  Hopefully I will have some new recipes posted in the coming months).  Meal planning will bring some calm to the chaos of life during Covid-19.  My kids are so used to our meals being planned out that my 8 year old, pretty much every day, checks out the calendar to see what is on the menu.

Find Something that Brings You Calm and Happiness

I know meal planning isn’t for everyone, or it just seems too overwhelming to even start.  If you aren’t ready for meal planning, I encourage you to simply find something that brings you calm.  During this year of survival (as I have not-so-affectionately called it), for the sake of your mental health, find calm and happiness somehow.  Whether that is starting a new exercise routine, learning how to knit, sewing, calling that friend you have been meaning to call for months, learning a new game, playing cards, or starting that book that you have never found the time to read. (I know time is precious and we often feel like we don’t have enough of it.  If there is something you care enough about doing, you will find the time).  There are so many things that can be your calm, you just have to do them.  I feel a little odd saying that meal planning brings me calm and happiness, but it does. I hope to make this next year a year to thrive versus a year of survival.