Love Tansy
Monday, 30 March 2020
A Corona Grocery Shop
Hello! How is the social distancing going? Are you pretty strict about it all? Have you left your house at all? Have you gone grocery shopping? I was supposed to stay home for an undefined amount of time ~ I guess until the government stopped strongly recommending social distancing. However my husband, who was the designated goer outer as he is still working, has been ill (not with anything virus related or catching). Our fridge was pretty empty and with all of us living here I knew I would have to brave the public. I don't like grocery shopping on a GOOD day okay. There have been many grocery store moments that have involved me in tears. I tried to not feel too overwhelmed and to just head out bravely but it was harder than I thought it would be. However once getting there all was well. The store has made many new rules and it was almost closing time. There were not many people in the store and although I could not always keep the physical distance away that I wished to I still felt okay. The cart was able to be wiped down and my hands sanitized when I got there. They still did not have toilet paper, cleaner, yeast or flour but I was able to get sugar and everything else on my extensive list. The line up was clearly labelled so everyone had a lot of space and for the first time in the store I was the only one at my till. The cashier had plexiglass up to protect her and she santized the key pad for my card and everything else she could. We were not allowed to put our shopping bags on the grocery line and everything seemed unhurried and careful. I actually felt safer and less stressed than I usually feel at the store. I went home and changed clothes and bathed and my fridge was full and I was ready to be at home once again for many days. This Corona Virus world pandemic situation has been a means to make many things in the world slow down. I know for some (like hospital and grocery store workers and truckers etc ) everything has shifted into a higher gear, but for me in my small world with my husband, children, sister and cats there is a feeling of unhurriedness and time. We fight, we sing, we yell, we dance, we make fires in the yard, we color and read, we listen to stories, we sew and build, we watch movies and we chat. I am not trying to keep all the schedules for all the children in mind. I feel a sense of camaraderie that I have never felt in my life with so many people out there as they all are trying to 'homeschool' which is really 'crisis school' (I saw that phrase online and totally agree). Life is a beautiful mess. May you stay healthy and feel safe. We are all in this together one day at a time.
Tuesday, 24 March 2020
Spring Is Here (and so is the Corona Virus)
It is Spring again. There are tiny purple Violets blooming in my little front garden bed. They have never been there before, and I didn't plant them. They are a gift that bring a smile to my face every time I see them. There are also Hyacinths blooming and my daughter brought one in for me the other day. They are so fragrant. Last week our days were full of sunshine! We don't see much of that through the winter months and so having sunshine meant that all of a sudden the walls of my house, that were closing in on me, and making me desperate to move, seemed to expand and I could breath again.
Something exponential has happened in such a small amount of time. The world has collectively fallen apart! There is a rampant virus raging that has incited fear and anxiety and panic into maybe every country in the world! News of the virus has been floating around since January that I remember. I don't follow the news as it causes me anxiety but I heard mention of a virus in China that was causing a lot of grief. Then, right before Spring break started here where I live, it reached our country and everything changed. Panic buying ensued and for some reason everyone and their great aunt decided toilet paper was essential. It became a very hot commodity. Going to a grocery store now takes courage and patience and the knowledge of how far apart six feet is exactly. There are many empty shelves. Why was toilet paper the rock star? I have no answers to that question but some people out there have a couple years worth of toilet paper in their homes. Lord bless them.
My husband has talked about the crashing stock market and the economy. I have listened to our nations leader asking people to social distance and to stay home. Small businesses in my town have closed, friends have lost their jobs for now. It all happened within a week it seemed! Schools have closed for the rest of the school year. Teachers are scrambling to figure out a new normal and what exactly they are going to do in order to keep teaching the children who must remain at home. Weddings have been cancelled and postponed, conferences, birthday parties and vacations can't happen, countries' borders are closed, church services are only online. Elderly people are isolated and not allowed to see loved ones. Woman giving birth are giving birth without their spouses to support them, or just with their spouse and are without doula's and birth photographers and friends present. Sports are not happening, either are concerts. People are 'sheltering in place' and not allowed to leave their homes for weeks on end to try to 'flatten the curve'. Everything in life has changed.so.much.
In the blink of an eye really
What has been on my mind a lot are the families who have been thrown into a home school like setting but without choice or warning.
My heart goes out to everyone right now on so many levels, but the families who have their children home 24/7, all of a sudden, with no sports, no parks (they are all closed), no play dates, nothing to do out side of the home I feel like I can personally understand the overwhelm parents must be feeling and it must be so intense. Our society decided at some point that the way a proper family operated was to be outside of the home as much as humanly possible...I would love to encourage you that in many ways this time at home has the potential to be a gift. In other ways it is really really challenging. When I started homeschooling it was not really something I felt I had a choice to do. My daughter was struggling so severely that going to school stopped being an option. I did not want to home school. I just had to. It was really hard. I know I am not mentioning the financial part of all this. There are so many hard things on so many levels with this whole situation that I am just talking about the sudden unscheduled no choice but to home school situation.
There are all different ways to attempt to wrap your head around this. Start with...they are your own children after all right? It helps to take it one day at a time. Try to really have low expectations of what you need to do. Home school really has potential to be short and sweet every day. Having a small morning ritual of maybe reading aloud or listening to a story online can be centering. Have a snack around 10am. Fuel always helps attitudes in my home. Let children figure out how they work and learn best. I have some that despise writing but don't mind typing. I have some that learn best hands on or visually. Having a bit of a routine might work for some. Doing practical learning can be fun for some. I mean every family is going to figure out what works best for them through trial and error. I think I would encourage a lot of self care for the primary care giver. I would encourage a lot of grace, hydration and nourishment for the body and soul and some time alone when ever possible :) Your children are gifts but some days it sure does not feel that way.....at all! We all feel that from time to time.
The big thing is
We are ALL in this together...even Germany where homeschooling is not legal! That makes me smile a bit. We are ALL going through this. No one is alone...well except we are...in our houses...
But anyway
The other things is
Our grandparents and great grandparents went through World War One and The Great Depression and World War Two. This toilet paper hording, mass panic, and all the things, might seem a bit much to them. They survived much much more and so many levels.
So, take a deep breath. Spring is here ~ the signs of hope and new life are everywhere.
Take heart, this too shall pass, and until then we need to love on our families as best as we can and let our breath slow and our hearts find peace.
All the best with that :)
Tansy
Something exponential has happened in such a small amount of time. The world has collectively fallen apart! There is a rampant virus raging that has incited fear and anxiety and panic into maybe every country in the world! News of the virus has been floating around since January that I remember. I don't follow the news as it causes me anxiety but I heard mention of a virus in China that was causing a lot of grief. Then, right before Spring break started here where I live, it reached our country and everything changed. Panic buying ensued and for some reason everyone and their great aunt decided toilet paper was essential. It became a very hot commodity. Going to a grocery store now takes courage and patience and the knowledge of how far apart six feet is exactly. There are many empty shelves. Why was toilet paper the rock star? I have no answers to that question but some people out there have a couple years worth of toilet paper in their homes. Lord bless them.
My husband has talked about the crashing stock market and the economy. I have listened to our nations leader asking people to social distance and to stay home. Small businesses in my town have closed, friends have lost their jobs for now. It all happened within a week it seemed! Schools have closed for the rest of the school year. Teachers are scrambling to figure out a new normal and what exactly they are going to do in order to keep teaching the children who must remain at home. Weddings have been cancelled and postponed, conferences, birthday parties and vacations can't happen, countries' borders are closed, church services are only online. Elderly people are isolated and not allowed to see loved ones. Woman giving birth are giving birth without their spouses to support them, or just with their spouse and are without doula's and birth photographers and friends present. Sports are not happening, either are concerts. People are 'sheltering in place' and not allowed to leave their homes for weeks on end to try to 'flatten the curve'. Everything in life has changed.so.much.
In the blink of an eye really
What has been on my mind a lot are the families who have been thrown into a home school like setting but without choice or warning.
My heart goes out to everyone right now on so many levels, but the families who have their children home 24/7, all of a sudden, with no sports, no parks (they are all closed), no play dates, nothing to do out side of the home I feel like I can personally understand the overwhelm parents must be feeling and it must be so intense. Our society decided at some point that the way a proper family operated was to be outside of the home as much as humanly possible...I would love to encourage you that in many ways this time at home has the potential to be a gift. In other ways it is really really challenging. When I started homeschooling it was not really something I felt I had a choice to do. My daughter was struggling so severely that going to school stopped being an option. I did not want to home school. I just had to. It was really hard. I know I am not mentioning the financial part of all this. There are so many hard things on so many levels with this whole situation that I am just talking about the sudden unscheduled no choice but to home school situation.
There are all different ways to attempt to wrap your head around this. Start with...they are your own children after all right? It helps to take it one day at a time. Try to really have low expectations of what you need to do. Home school really has potential to be short and sweet every day. Having a small morning ritual of maybe reading aloud or listening to a story online can be centering. Have a snack around 10am. Fuel always helps attitudes in my home. Let children figure out how they work and learn best. I have some that despise writing but don't mind typing. I have some that learn best hands on or visually. Having a bit of a routine might work for some. Doing practical learning can be fun for some. I mean every family is going to figure out what works best for them through trial and error. I think I would encourage a lot of self care for the primary care giver. I would encourage a lot of grace, hydration and nourishment for the body and soul and some time alone when ever possible :) Your children are gifts but some days it sure does not feel that way.....at all! We all feel that from time to time.
The big thing is
We are ALL in this together...even Germany where homeschooling is not legal! That makes me smile a bit. We are ALL going through this. No one is alone...well except we are...in our houses...
But anyway
The other things is
Our grandparents and great grandparents went through World War One and The Great Depression and World War Two. This toilet paper hording, mass panic, and all the things, might seem a bit much to them. They survived much much more and so many levels.
So, take a deep breath. Spring is here ~ the signs of hope and new life are everywhere.
Take heart, this too shall pass, and until then we need to love on our families as best as we can and let our breath slow and our hearts find peace.
All the best with that :)
Tansy
Tuesday, 10 March 2020
A Wee Update
I have not been writing much for a while now. I love writing and I miss it. However life is a different sort of busy with a baby. It is a unique pouring out of ones self.
I am seeing the blessings in my every day. I have a wonderful counselor who hears me out and asks me great questions. I have five children who are all amazing me with how far they have come in their lives and all that they are doing.
We have a fun trip coming up that I am so looking forward to. I hope it gives me time to somehow feel rejuvenated. I can't imagine now how that will be possible but I am hoping for a miracle.
The winter has been long and hard. I am run down and have been sick so many times. The signs of Spring, as always, remind me of where I have come from and how much hope and beauty there is in the world.
Happy almost Spring! If you are like me you might spend hours on a screen daily and mere minutes outside weekly. Changing that might change everything?
May you feel full of hope.
Remember that feelings of anger, bitterness, sadness etc are often from something in the past and feelings of anxiety and fear often have something to do with the future. Focusing on today, the here and now, and focusing on gratitude can sometimes be the key to getting through a day with hope. It also might create less need to soothe and escape reality.
This is what someone recently told me and I have trying to really hold that close.
Also something else that really resonated with me was a line in a book about not being put on this earth just be happy and seek happiness but to serve and to find the joy in that. Most of my job here is serving and so often I am sick of it and dissatisfied. I am also trying to really realize the choices I am making and weigh them closely and also find joy in the service.
So that is that
Love Tansy
I am seeing the blessings in my every day. I have a wonderful counselor who hears me out and asks me great questions. I have five children who are all amazing me with how far they have come in their lives and all that they are doing.
We have a fun trip coming up that I am so looking forward to. I hope it gives me time to somehow feel rejuvenated. I can't imagine now how that will be possible but I am hoping for a miracle.
The winter has been long and hard. I am run down and have been sick so many times. The signs of Spring, as always, remind me of where I have come from and how much hope and beauty there is in the world.
Happy almost Spring! If you are like me you might spend hours on a screen daily and mere minutes outside weekly. Changing that might change everything?
May you feel full of hope.
Remember that feelings of anger, bitterness, sadness etc are often from something in the past and feelings of anxiety and fear often have something to do with the future. Focusing on today, the here and now, and focusing on gratitude can sometimes be the key to getting through a day with hope. It also might create less need to soothe and escape reality.
This is what someone recently told me and I have trying to really hold that close.
Also something else that really resonated with me was a line in a book about not being put on this earth just be happy and seek happiness but to serve and to find the joy in that. Most of my job here is serving and so often I am sick of it and dissatisfied. I am also trying to really realize the choices I am making and weigh them closely and also find joy in the service.
So that is that
Love Tansy
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