Five Weeks In, and Five Helpful Habits

It has been five weeks since our lives were turned upside down. I’m sharing the five habits that are keeping me sane right now.

Yes, it is five weeks to the day that my daughter’s school closed on that fateful Friday, March 13. I mark it as the start of many changes and challenges for our family.

This is no longer the beginning…though the end is not yet in sight. We’re in the middle stretch. Now is the time to lean on the habits that I’ve formed over the past month. (The good habits, that is, not the tendency to scour the pantry for leftover candy from my oldest’s birthday pinata.)

Here are my five healthy habits for surviving this challenging time.

I take 30 minute brisk walks outside five times a week.

These walks around our property are a lifesaver for me. Just being outside relieves any sense of being cooped up. It’s enough exercise to get all those good benefits of a cardio workout, but not so rigorous that it wears me out.

Oh, and there is a reason why my goal is to take brisk walks 5 times a week, and not every day. I need flexibility for those days when the scheduled grocery pickup takes 90 minutes, or someone is having mysterious stomach pains, or we have a freak snowstorm in the middle of April…like today. We all played outside over my husband’s lunch hour, and I called it good.

I know that I can walk tomorrow and still meet my goal. Then I can enjoy that feeling of accomplishment.

We eat good meals at set times. Since my husband has Type 1 diabetes, eating balanced meals at regular times has always been a priority. Then our girls came along, and we had three more reasons to maintain our food schedule…or suffer the tantrums and tears.

My oldest and my youngest particularly fall to pieces when the food doesn’t appear on time.

The stress of the past month has reminded me that someone else in the house really needs to eat on time…mommy. Now I can’t blame pregnancy or nursing, and I must accept the fact that I do poorly when I get late with a meal. My mood goes south, I get anxious, and everything looks bleak. In addition to feeding my family, I need to make sure I am eating myself. Since my husband has been trying to tell me this our entire married life, he is thrilled I’m finally catching on.

We worship online every Sunday. 

This is the best habit for our whole family. I love continuing to worship together.

Each worship service has special meaning for me as God’s Word and our pastor’s message calm my anxiety and refresh me when I’m weary.

I also love our Sunday school routine. We hold Sunday school for our girls prior to our streamed service.

Here they are coloring Easter sheets after a lesson on Jesus’ resurrection. We find we don’t need to do anything fancy. What’s important is maintaining the routine of worship and teaching God’s Word to our girls.

I choose one person to call/check in on each day.

A daily phone call to a friend or family member helps me connect and know that the people I care about are okay.

Sometimes a text conversation is all that I can make happen for that day. Though talking is my preference, texts work, too, during this busy time in my life. I am finding that the connections I make with people are more meaningful than ever.

I keep asking for help.

As a mom of little ones, I cherish offers to help. And I’ve embraced the excellent advice I once received from a seasoned grandma: it is 100% okay to ask for help.

Once upon a time I would have called up a dear friend or family member to help put out the little fires or give me respite when my husband is tied up with his own work.

Now we are operating under a stay-at-home order, and our Governor does not seem disposed to make exceptions for my laundry emergency, my vacuum cleaner emergency, my ant infestation emergency, or my desire for an hour of “me time” to pluck my eyebrows and trim my bangs.

The help I do continue to receive is invaluable, like my dear friend who dropped off toilet paper for us!

Yet all help these days is limited.

All help, that is, except from One. This source of unlimited help is eager to come to my rescue at any time of day or night, in any way needed.

These five weeks have revealed like no other time in my life that surely God is my help, the Lord is the one who sustains me (Psalm 54:4). My risen and living Savior has shown me time and time again that He is my refuge and strength, my ever-present help in all my troubles, big and small (Psalm 46:1). Nothing can prevent him from coming to my aid, whether I need a resolution to a grocery situation, peace of mind when I’m worried, or strength when I’m weary.

People depend on me right now. They did before during those first completely surreal days and weeks. And they will keep on needing me through the end. So I take care of their bodies and my body, their souls and my soul. Through it all, I rely on the God who is taking care of me.