Just popping in today to share a helpful link with my readers and friends. Like many people, I've been feeling a little unsettled in the past year. The coronavirus, and now political uncertainty and a certain amount of national turmoil have all taken their toll. We lost a dear friend to suicide in December also, so our personal lives were impacted by that loss as well.
One thing that has really wrenched my heart during this past year has been the impact of all this stress and uncertainty on children. Children who were already being homeschooled have a bit of an advantage, of course. But this is not easy for them, either. They have the same concerns and fears as any other children; it's just that having school at home is normal for them already. Their routines have been affected, though, make no mistake about it, with regular activities and events cancelled or taking a much different form. For example, during the time when the guidelines of our state involved churches being closed for a time, my five-year-old granddaughter demanded to know "Why are we no longer going to church?"
At the beginning of the most stringent guidelines, my hubby and I made a conscious decision that we were going to continue to regularly see our local grandchildren, and yes, we were going to continue hugging them. Life is far too short not to see or hug people you care about. We have not once regretted that decision, and we believe it was a real benefit and help to the kids (as well as ourselves) through that time. We have also very much admired the way our daughters and other young moms we know well have kept life as consistent and happy as possible for their kids during these crazy times.
My hubby and I started subscribing to this newspaper in the fall. In a recent issue, I read this extremely helpful article: In An Uncertain World, What's a Mom to Do? . I was so encouraged and want to share this with all the moms and grandmothers I know. It contains ten very doable tips for making daily life simpler and more comforting and consistent for our kids and grandkids. Some are things we may be already doing, but it's a great reminder to keep on keeping on.
I hope this is a blessing to someone today. It surely was an encouragement to me.
Thank you for your excellent post today. I love that you have been able to continue to spend time with your grandchildren and local family. We don't have any little grandchildren, but we have stayed close to our adult children who live in our community and am very thankful for their support and help throughout the past year. I don't know what we would have done if we could not have been with our kids. Thankfully we are healthy and so are they, and we have felt perfectly safe together. I realize not everyone can do this, but I thank God we could. I will read the article later...it looks like it would be very good. Thank you for sharing it with us. Blessings to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I told everyone early on when they were fretting about me getting out that not seeing family wasn't going to work. I absolutely must see the grandson and my kids. I pray for them daily to walk with the Lord in this crazy world. Kids need to see us being as normal as possible. I also decided after our church opened back up that I would teach my girls. I feel it is my calling and someone has to do it. I am so grateful I have my little family close by so I can see them often. That is not lost on me.
ReplyDeleteIn total agreement with you on these things. It was May after all those weeks of isolation that I woke up and said to myself, "This is not of The Lord and this is not how we were created." I live on borrowed time as everyone does really. I figured out quickly what was most important. It was not sitting at home not seeing anyone for months on end.
ReplyDeleteHave been teetering on the fence about subscribing to that newspaper...
Love the photo of you with the younger grands. ☺️
Totally agree. I tell Landon and Kendall, hold your breath I am coming in for a hug.lol I have some friends who have been cruelly estranged from their grandchildren and not because of covid. It makes me so sad, Grandparents are very important in a child's life.
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