I'm Back!

We are living in a historic time, and many of us are battling conflicting emotions that change multiple times a day.  We are in a situation we’ve never been in before nor has anyone ever been!  It’s a struggle to sort out the truth from the rhetoric, and a true balancing act between staying informed and becoming obsessed.  Our physical and our mental health seem like they are somethings being pitted against each other, and it's been difficult to lead a "regular" life over the past several months.
 
For me, part of my "regular" life for the past 3 years has been this blog, but I soon realized that it had been months since my last blog post.  When stay-at-home orders first hit, I was just busy with my day job in IT, so I skipped a couple of weeks.  Then I became envious of those I saw posting on social media about how they were embracing the “pause” in daily life.   My work life had not paused, and in fact I was working more hours with more stress than ever, and I still had to be a good boss, a supportive wife, an attentive parent, and even a teacher!  The only thing I felt that I could allow myself to “pause” was my blog - so I stopped writing.

About a month after my last blog post, I realized that not ONE person had noticed I hadn’t written or posted on social media, so I became discouraged wondering why I should even start up again.  I began to use any pockets of time that I could find to do other things I enjoyed like reading, working in the yard, learning to sew, going on walks with my husband, and spending bonus time with my kids.  ​

I came to love being quarantined with my family.  I liked not having to share them with anyone and how having more forced time together took away the guilt of alone time.  I began to feel like time was slowing down - it was almost like freezing time that I wrote about a couple years ago.  Even though my day job went from crazy busy to sort of normal and back to frantic several times over the past 3 months, I had the ability to work from home during much of that time which was just plain good for my soul. I became more productive and more balanced.  I recognize that my family was very fortunate to avoid layoffs and have a comfortable home in which to ride out the quarantine time, and I felt guilty about being in that position when many others weren’t.

Even when I wanted to write, I didn’t know what to say.  Believe me, I had - and still have - lots of feelings about the pandemic, the economy, racism, protests, politics, etc.  But all of those topics can be very divisive, and I didn’t want to compound the issues by posting my opinions during such tumultuous times.  Then I felt more guilt for not sharing my heartfelt thoughts. 

"I want to teach them to acknowledge and learn from the past, see others' viewpoints, and develop empathy and understanding."

I see things through the lens of a parent, so as events continued to unfold over the past few months, I knew I had to explain them to my sons truthfully and in a way not to scare them but to educate and guide them.  I want to instill in them that threats to health and safety exist and that it’s not just about their chances of getting sick, but it’s about respecting and protecting their family, friends, and community.  I want to instill in them that all human life has the same value and, though injustice exists, it’s our personal responsibility to treat others kindly, respectfully, and equally.  I want to teach them by example that we have to speak up when we see or hear something that is not right, and getting angry isn’t wrong as long as we control that anger and funnel it in a productive way.  I want to teach them to acknowledge and learn from the past, see others’ viewpoints, and develop empathy and understanding.  ​
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All of the heaviness of this spring weighed me down, and it became easier and easier to put off getting back to my blog.  I even thought about stopping all together, but a couple of weeks ago my high school best friend launched a new small business on Facebook (please check 4 Designs by Tara!)  I immediately wanted to help her be successful - and that’s when I remembered the energy I get from helping others achieve their goals.  THAT’S why I do this, because my passion is helping others succeed through identifying their goals and organizing themselves and their homes in a way that makes them productive.  So, I’m back - I’m done feeling guilty, insecure, lazy, and ashamed.  I’m back to chasing my passion which is helping you achieve yours!

I look forward to reconnecting with all of you!

What's Next?
I’m launching the next session of Achieve!, the group goal setting and accountability group for women, in mid-September with a 6 week session.  If you have a goal you need help achieving or even need help determining what your goal is, this small group, virtual program may be just what you need.  Learn more about the program here.  ​​ If you decide to sign up, use coupon code: EARLYBIRD  by 8/15/20 for your first week free!

Get More Info About Achieve!

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Sources
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash