The Nest: One Day At A Time
I will start this blog by stating, “Yes, I am a nurse. Yes, I am scared but determined. There is more to Life to come.”
COVID-19 is real, but our lives as women are also moving forward each day, pandemic or not.
A 60-second plank during a workout can feel like an hour. Before my son would receive a vaccination, time would slow and it would feel like a year of consolation before the injection was given. When someone tells me the year 2000 was 20 years ago, I would tell you that time felt like the blink of an eye.
For the first time since I began blogging, I am writing this out in a journal by hand in cursive. Times are changing. I know it is tough, Momma, and I am here with you. With all that is happening in the world, I have had time to reflect back to how I have used my own time before this pandemic:
1. Had I been dedicating my time in the past to the things I love or the events I felt obligated to?
2. Was I giving my time away in the past to practices I felt bettered my mind and body or had I thrown away my time to the detriment of them?
Time, if I stay conscious to the matter, can be measured as a progress of existence defined by my events. Yeah, I’m thinking deep – Obviously, the lack of face-to-face socializing has left me alone with my mind, thinking deeply. Possibly going off the deep end completely, to avoid the massive pile of laundry that resides on our bed waiting to be folded.
Staying at home, finding new ways to spend our time has actually shifted my mindset.
Similar to the feeling when you’re so sure you left your keys on the counter, but come to find them in your purse. A subconscious change has happened in me during the last few months. A change that needed to happen occurred when we slowed down at home and with our social life. For the first time, I wrote this blog out by hand and corrected it so personally on paper. I felt the shift there too. It is so easy to type my thoughts, but writing them out takes time. Slowing down at home and in life in general has been an unexpected downshift from the hectic, fast-paced, rolling stone we had become accustomed to. It truly has been a dramatic halt to our “normal” lifestyle. I had always looked at the clock, but never looked at my time.
Right now, everyone seems to be traveling at the same speed, cruising in the same gear. It hasn’t been easy. Just as everyone has, we have wondered, “What’s next?” Currently, I have time to garden, time to clean, time to try new recipes, and time to spend with my husband and son alone. I have found that my mother’s advice rings true, “Gratitude changes everything.”.
I am grateful for my family and friends.
I am grateful to help others.
I am grateful for simplicity.
I am grateful the most for my two cats and my toddler who keep me constantly entertained.
I will not lie: Some days I feel like I am in the middle of the 60-second plank. ONE.SECOND. at a time. And, I am so grateful for my girlfriends who can relate. Other days, I am shocked my iPhone is already telling me it’s Friday. I disregarded time before this pandemic, I didn’t listen to the other people telling me it was short. I wish I did. I am growing and changing and now consistently grateful. I want to change, molt, grow. Every woman should. I wasn’t aware of how I disregarded time and the awareness that came with how quickly or how slowly it passed. I think when we are out of this current situation I will choose more wisely, more intentionally, and more carefully exactly where our time is spent.
Traveling, socializing, and staying busy are wonderful ways to spend our time, but so are “stay at home” activities. I am going to answer myself differently after this when I drop a statement in my mind such as,
…..” I don’t know if I have time for this”
or
…. “I wish I had time to make for ..”
I will know that in 2020, I did have all the time in the world for – self-care, my husband, my son, my garden, long phone calls with family, my grandparents, my friends, and time for what I truly needed.
I find myself today with a new sense of ownership of my time. A confidence in choosing, and an absolute desire to stay aware of how time passes me by. Maybe my cats have always been right; take naps, stretch often, eat what fuels you, and enjoy what makes you happy. You are the owner of your time. Instead of living birthday to wedding to holiday, we are going to practice being a one day at a time family.
Stay safe and be well.
Reba Tappan writes The Nest blog. She is mom to an adorable little boy, who she enjoys pushing in the stroller around her neighborhood with her husband. She writes about life as a working mother while navigating the journey to maintaining a mom-bod.
