Sometimes it’s just hard. You’re on day 3 of the emotional roller coaster of kids who have big feelings and big reactions and they need help navigating them what seems like every 2 minutes. Breaking up fights, discussing the need to share, giving consequences, taking breaks, enduring more crying, more fighting, more meltdowns. On repeat. Day after day.
And when you wake up and it feels like your feet hit the ground just to rush right into the emotional needs of others when you yourself feel dry and empty – it’s a lot. Meanwhile you’re tired and an emotional mess yourself because you’re living through a pandemic and wondering when life will return to normal again – if normal is even a thing anymore?
It’s heavy to bear and sometimes just needs to be called out for what it is: A difficult day. A difficult week. A difficult season.
Whatever it is for you, let yourself sit in that and own it and come to terms with it. You’re in a hard place that’s not very fun right now. Light and airy don’t seem to be around the corner anytime soon but instead feel like they’re at the top of Mount Everest. Grab hold of where you’re at and give words to express it.
As I’ve been navigating these days that turn into weeks, I have noticed that I’ve been finding freedom sitting in the hardness and raising the white flag of surrender – just embracing it instead of fighting against it. If I can just understand where we’re at as a family and navigate forward from there it’s much easier than living in denial or frustration about where we actually are. Thinking everything is fine, when in fact it’s really difficult, is not helpful.
I feel that extending grace to myself is saying, “This is hard and it’s ok that I’m not handling this in the ways I would want to. It’s ok this does not feel great right now. (Then I let myself have a good cry.) What can I do to move us forward in grace and hope?”
For us today that looks like removing all expectations and “have tos” and asking myself, what would bring some relief today? Would a movie for the kids and alone time for me be helpful? Would outdoor time bring a sense of calm? Would ordering pizza and wearing pjs alleviate some stress? What is a way I can show physical grace to myself and our family today? How can we reset where we are by identifying and calling out how we are doing, and then altering our difficult day by infusing some tangible acts of grace?
These days are wild and chaotic and uncharted territory. I hope we can remind each other to be gracious with ourselves and our families as we navigate this day in and day out. Know that you are not alone!
