You might think I’m one of those people who rolls with the punches. There are times that is true, for sure. Not always, though. The big 😀smile hides my tendency to overthink. I’m also not afraid to say that I’m also a bit of a control freak. I’m working on taming those traits. Some days are easier than others.
It’s a problem- not just for folks like me, but also for the folks dealing with their own control freaks! My people figured out how to live with a control freak a long ⏳time ago. The trick is letting me THINK I have some kind of control, whether I actually do it not.😜 I’m not so controlling that I don’t give up the 👑crown. I know when someone else needs to take the 🐴reins- and 😀happily let that happen. Honestly, I don’t have to be in control all the time. I just want to know my role- that fills my need for control. Right now, I don’t fully understand my role. It’s a lot!
I’m here to tell you that we control freaks and overthinkers aren’t doing well. 😬We’re trying, but we’re not wired for the current situation. Under normal circumstances, I’d give myself an 🌟A- for my coping skills. I look for something I can control and let go of the rest. That system has been tried and tested many times throughout my life with 🎉great success. Yet, I had a 😢meltdown about 🍴dinner last week. How many days am I supposed to figure out dinner? All seven?❓Really?❓Even when we’re all in the same house all freaking day with the same access to the same fridge?❓
Don’t get me wrong. My moment had nothing to do with 🍴dinner. The other two in my quarantine would happily figure out 🍝dinner. They would fix food for themselves or our entire crew. It had just been a day, you know? I had trouble trying to order new contacts because I couldn’t get my prescription. The 👀eye doctor’s office is 🚫closed. Ken and I worked through the unemployment site for his layoff. I fumbled through a video recording for my new 💻virtual class. I cleaned the 🏠house- again. There were a couple loads of 👖👕laundry.
Then came the question, “What’s for dinner?”
This 🚫quarantine or 🚫isolation or 🚫social distancing or whatever we’re calling it today is hard. You know precisely what I’m talking about, don’t you? I’m not bragging when I say that my 🏠household is doing pretty great with it for the most part. We’re sticking to a loose 📝schedule. We’re getting 🌞fresh air when the weather permits. We’re working out in some way every day. Angelina and I are doing 💻work for school. Ken is doing projects around the 🏠house. We’re jumping on FaceTime with family. I’m pretty proud of the way we’re handling this- like 💪Pandemic Pros! That doesn’t mean that 😬frustrations don’t overwhelm us from time to time. I think that’s okay. Living through history is tough. It’s important to talk about all of it. The good times, the scary moments, the successes, the hypochondriac tendencies when we cough, the meltdowns over dinner.
I read a quote that spoke to me. Have you ever noticed how those things seem to pop up at precisely the right ⏰time? I don’t believe that it’s a coincidence. It’s a little 💜whisper- directed right at me!
“Don’t try to steer the river.” Deepak Chopra
I think that’s what I’m doing. I want to steer this 🌊river. The 🌊currents are moving quickly- changing by the hour. The possible end is a moving 🎯target. I want solid information that I can depend on, and that’s just not possible right now. I can’t steer this 🌊river. Even when I try to escape with a 📺TV show, I’m slapped back into this alternate reality by a commercial reminding me to wash my 👋hands and 😷cover my cough.
There are things that I can do, though. I can continue to find glimpses of 😍joy in this new normal. I can learn ways to adapt as the information changes. Did you know that there are lots of ways to make fabric 😷masks with things you probably have around your house? Google it and get crafty! I can also give in to those moments when it all seems like too-much-too-fast. That’s not a sign of defeat- just an emotional release before taking a deep breath and moving forward with a 😀smile. I mean- I freaked out about 🍴dinner! What did that matter in the big picture of this 😷pandemic? It didn’t- it was just the 💥breaking point of a string of stressful days. You get it.
What if…we don’t try to steer? This 🌊river has to run its course. I know that. You know that. This is the time to simply make the 😍best of a tough situation and follow the instructions. 🚫No control freaks needed.
(Loving these pics of the Fox River in Illinois? I took them when we were there for the Fox Valley Marathon. You get to run along this beautiful river as part of the race route.)
sharing the stairs 