Wednesday, April 1, 2020

April Showers Bring May Flowers

We've all heard the saying "April showers bring May flowers" and this feels especially true right now.  I don't know about you, but my March felt like it was three times longer than it's supposed to be.  Part of me was relieved to flip the calendar this morning.


March has always been a long month for me.  As a kid, I remember how it seemed to drag on.... seemingly forever at times.  My parents are both accountants so we never did that much during March.  Pair that with basketball season being over and spring sports not starting yet and you have a recipe for boredom.  The weather in Maine doesn't help.  It doesn't feel like spring and we usually get heavy and wet snow.  It's usually not so warm that you want to spend time outside, but it's starting to warm up slowly.  Basically, by March, I'm always longing for spring, warm weather and flowers.

This year, there are moments when it seems like all we're getting are the constant April showers.  We're being bombarded with depressing and scary news.  The outlook is grim at times.  We're only at the tip of the iceberg, and we've still got a long way to go.

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As you may recall, back when I wrote my 2020 Disney Goals, I made my word of the year Positivity.  (I never imagined how relevant that would end up being.)  In that post, I stated how easy it is to get sucked into the negativity that we are surrounded by.  Last year, I had some not so wonderful moments and unfortunately, I allowed myself to get sucked into negative thoughts more than I should have.  At times, it affected my overall disposition and my outlook on life.  This year is supposed to be all about the positive.

Right now, it's very easy to focus on the negative when it's all encompassing and surrounding us in every thing that we do.  We're all feeling it... fear, despair, loneliness, isolation, and so many more emotions.  We're all riding a rollercoaster of complete chaos... longing to get off but unable to as we're not the ones in control.

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I've realized the current situation that we're all experiencing is going to be our way of life for the foreseeable future.  I've read reports that we might have to socially distance ourselves from our communities, friends and loved ones for 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 20 weeks... no one really knows.  It all depends on how well we can flatten the curve.

That's a hard pill to swallow, but I'm slowly coming to terms with it and accepting it.  I've decided that I need to focus on the positive, and that's difficult- especially right now.  I know that it's going to require a lot of effort and constant mindfulness on my part.  I'm sure it's not going to be easy, but we all have to do whatever it's going to take to not let this conquer us.  Our minds and spirits are worth investing in.


I've already made a few changes that I think are helping.  I've stopped leaving the television on in the background- even if I'm just listening to a Hallmark movie.  A lot of companies have already changed their commercials to reflect the times, and I don't need the constant reminder of curbside pick-up, contactless deliveries, etc.  

I've also stopped spending so much time scrolling on Facebook.  I still do it sometimes, but it's not as all encompassing as I have been the past few weeks.  If I'm not seeing positive posts of my friends' cute kids and pets, I get off pretty quickly.  I can read about what's happening in the news when I'm ready (and mentally prepared) to.

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In addition to that, the most helpful thing has been to completely turn off the news.  I'm very appreciative of the information that we're receiving, but if you watch too much, it will slowly eat away at you.  Back when things were changing quickly, I kept CNN on so I could know what was going on.  But because of the onslaught of negative news, I ended up incredibly fearful and had a mild panic attack when I found out that Eliot couldn't work from home.  It's been freeing to watch the news on my own terms.

I've tried to "find the fun" in any way that I can.  Yesterday, I took the day to celebrate Quarantine-O-Ween and had some Halloween fun a few months early.  Depending on how long this lasts, I might celebrate more holidays and events.  Maybe I'll have my own themed days, or crafting days, or movie marathons... whatever it takes.  I want to look back at this time and remember the good times, not the fear and uncertainty.

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Make no mistake, this is hard.  What we're all dealing with is hard.  Trying to stay positive when it feels like the world around us is crumbling is hard.  Getting out of bed is hard.  Parenting and teaching your children while also trying to clean the house is hard.  Working when you're considered essential when you'd rather be at home safe with your family is hard.  Being away from your family is hard.  Being away from your friends is hard.  Being isolated from everything that you know is hard.

But I have faith that the April showers will eventually bring the May flowers... even if we have to live like this past April... May... June.  We're going to get through this.  One way or another, we'll make it through.  I really hope that on the other side of this, we will all be better for it.  We'll all be a little bit more grateful for what we do have.


As we start another new month, we have another fresh start.  I'm choosing to try to find the positive in each and every day, hour, minute and moment.  We can't change what's happening around us, but we can change our attitude about it.  We can choose joy, we can choose happiness and we can choose to be grateful.  We can choose to turn the April showers in to May flowers.  We are the key to unlocking our own magic. °o°

1 comment:

  1. Thankful for your posts...the fun ones and the positive ones...look forward to them! From one Mainer to another-Thank You and Be Safe jv

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