My View: Finding Time to Reflect Through Turmoil

Wow, what week this has been … sadness, anxiety, heartbreak, and fear in our world has been encompassing everyone’s thoughts and emotions. People not knowing when their next day at work will be and how they will manage financially, daycare closing down with parents having nowhere to bring their children, college and high school sports seasons ending early, major events getting cancelled, elderly people in lock down at their nursing homes, stores selling out of extremely necessary and important items… it’s absolute craziness and can be hard to find light in such a scary and overwhelming situation.

Spring break is this week for my family, as it is for most, and on a more personal note, we had many plans made that have since been cancelled. Now, nothing. I do understand how serious this is for many people in our community; I also understand the fact that staying home will benefit society as a whole, and I need to remember that the sooner all of this is figured out, the sooner life will get back to normal.

I have chosen to look at this horrible event like a speed bump; a ridge in the road that is normally there to control the speed of traffic is now being placed in my life to tell me to slow down. This virus has caused A LOT of self-reflection for myself and my family. Over the past year, I have been “go, go, go”; over-scheduling, running from place to place, feeling like there weren’t enough hours in the day. Now we are being forced to stop and slow down the daily grind. No running to see my dad in his nursing home, no parades to attend, no sporting events or school functions to supervise. My family and I are embracing the quality time we have been given to each other and using it to grow together.

While it is extremely hard to find contentment in a situation that is unknown and can be life-changing to so many people, as a community I am hopeful we can come together and help each other while slowing down a little. Finding good in all circumstances or gaining positive perspective can be a challenge, but in the long run will make us all stronger.