Yesterday morning suddenly feels like it was a week ago. Monday seems as if it happened back in 2019. It’s hard to get your bearings and figure out what to focus on, where to turn, what comes next?
Funny story: my husband and I had tickets for Broadway on Saturday night. Broadway got shut down yesterday, so …. In light of what’s happening right now, a scuttled date night is the most minor of anyone’s problems. But it’s those small things that are often the pivotal scene in the disaster movie or dystopian novel, right? Ironically the show we were meant to see was “The Lehman Trilogy” about the history of Lehman Brothers, the investment firm that collapsed at the start of the 2008 financial crisis. History doesn’t repeat itself but it does rhyme.
If you came into 2020 with big plans of any kind, those plans may now be, at best, on hold. At worst your plans may already have been scuttled or soon will be. It’s the not-knowing what is to come that is the hardest. Given our new reality here’s what I’m doing to get through the next few days and, likely, weeks or longer.
- I’m taking care of myself, physically and mentally. Personally I’m prioritizing outdoor exercise, drinking lots of water, eating well and ditching booze. This takes discipline, as I famously wrote, so I’m also …
- … trying to be patient with myself. I know it’s going to be hard. My husband and I will both be working from home and my kids may yet end up here, too. Tensions will run high so I’m also …
- … finding moments of joy. My husband, an Eagle Scout, started ordering extra food back at the end of February. I ordered Modge Podge so I can do a craft project with my school-age kids. My comment to him: “You prep your way, I’ll prep mine.”
Meanwhile, here’s a few resources that you might find useful:
- The National Association of School Psychologists has published a parent resource to Talking to Children About Covid-19.
- Wall Street Journal’s Guide on How to Navigate the Crisis (WSJ content is usually behind a paywall, but this resource is being made free).
- The New York Times has a good package of resources, especially how to prepare and changes to day-to-day life. This article about helping teens with anxiety is particularly good.
- Harvard Medical School on dealing with coronavirus anxiety.