I figure that if I’m living through such a surreal moment in history, the least I can do is document it so that my grandkids have a primary source for a history project someday! One thing I have learned from my Stuck-at-Home journal this week is that lockdown = a major adjustment period.
Stuck-at-Home Journal: Quarantine = Major Adjustment Period
This isn’t the first adjustment period I’ve experienced in life, and it won’t be my last.
One of the main adjustments I had to make when I got married (nearly a million years ago…OK, 28 years) was moving into a house with different time zones.
No, I didn’t move across the country. My husband set the clocks scattered through the house with different amounts of “time ahead”.
The bedroom alarm clock was 4 minutes ahead.
Ahead of the Game
The kitchen clock was 7 minutes ahead. His car was 9 minutes ahead. Intentionally. So HE wouldn’t be late. Except my husband is one of the smartest people I know…and really good at math. Within days I realized I was pretty good at location-based math. By just looking at the face of the clock my brain would automagically adjust it to “real time”. Our brains adjust really quickly. That can be good! Our brains adjust really quickly. That can be bad…
When Your Brain Doesn’t Get That it’s Bedtime…
Last night around midnight, turned off what I was watching (ooooo! If you like Downton Abbey, you need to check out Sanditon on Amazon Prime Masterpiece Theater) and the minute my head hit the pillow, I had a sensation that I couldn’t breathe. And instantly my entire body went into panic because OBVIOUSLY I was minutes away from needing a ventilator. It took me awhile to calm down, because my brain has just adjusted to the new COVID-19 time zone. One of the fastest ways to calm down at night is gratitude counting…just like counting sheep, only with blessings.
Stuck-at-Home Gratitude Journal
Taking a gratitude inventory. No matter how big or small. One of the things I am thankful for is the collective brain that is working on solving the Coronavirus problem. Super smart people all over the world putting effort into ONE THING. It is what is under-reported & under-celebrated. It is what will get us out of this mess, and will be on the top of my gratitude count tonight.
My mind might be racing day and night, pondering the negatives, but you know who is enjoying this extra time together? Panda. She is in the middle of everything all day and falls into happy exhaustion in the late afternoon. It is like she can’t believe how lucky she is.
I need to be more like my dog.
Fun Things to Do While You’re Stuck at Home
- Check out these kids education websites offering free subscriptions.
- Help your kids learn how to make bubbles at home!
- My kids are obsessed with these active indoor games.
- These crafts for kids are so fun and easy!
- Learn how to make headbands with buttons.
- Make reading even more fun with this PB kids summer reading challenge.
- You won’t believe why parents are gluing pennies on shoes.
- Rawr! Here are some of our favorite dinosaur crafts.
- Get kids off technology and back to basics with learning worksheets you can print at home.
- Make being stuck at home fun with our favorite indoor games for kids.
- Have fun coloring our awesome Fortnite coloring pages.
- Make a batch of these Edible Harry Potter Wizard Wands, with this recipe from The Nerd’s Wife, and then have a Harry Potter movie marathon!
- Your will love these fun halloween games for kids!
What are you doing to take care of yourself during this major adjustment period? Comment below!
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