Being an Introvert in a Time of Physical Distancing...

You know things are bad when even the introverts are struggling with physical distancing.

Friends, I am struggling big time!  There are so many factors leading to this.  

1) The only time I am alone these days is when I go to the bathroom or take a shower.  The rest of the day someone else is always around.  This does not bode well for any introvert because we are not given the time to be alone and recharge.

2) Even us introverts like to have social interaction on a regular basis.  The biggest thing is that we have time to be alone and recharge afterwards. 

3) We miss interacting with our favorite people in person.  Interacting over video chatting and video conferencing apps helps with this, but those of us who are huggers, it is hard to not be able to share the love that way with our peeps.

4) For those of us introverts with extroverted kids, this time is a special kind of hell because they are always on and want to be social but we just want to take a break and quietly read a book by ourselves.  To help alleviate this particular struggle I have been doing extra reading time with my extroverted 4 year old.  It is not the alone time I desperately crave but it is a calm time where we snuggle up while I read out loud to him.  And bonus, I get to give and receive hugs!

I feel bad for complaining about my 1st world, middle class introverted problems when so many people in the world have it soooooo much worse than I do.  All I'm being asked to do is stay inside with my family and figure out how to get them to do some school work each day while they are distance learning through May 4th.  I have a roof over my head, clothes to wear, food to eat, games to play, a husband who has a flexible schedule who can be with us more than some parents can be at this time and online communities to help with my social loneliness during this time.

My struggles stem from within.  Loneliness, anxiety, fear, frustration.  Yet, hope, love, empathy, and above all faith continue to guide me and all of us through this historic period in history.  What will we look back on and remember about this time?  I pray that I will remember the craziness and have amazing stories of love and compassion to share with my boys and their children, of the love and compassion I see people sharing with each other daily.  We'll all remember the struggles and sacrifices each of us made in our own way, but let's hope we have more stories we can laugh about than anything else.

Until next time friends!

Sincerely,

Megan

Planning during our time of "social" distancing.

We live in strange times friends!  And though most of us will make it through this current state of affairs of strict "social" distancing, we will be forever changed by this collective experience, we are going through together but separately.

I am the type of person who likes to have a plan, a rough schedule to follow and I always write everything down.  I am a paper and pen/pencil kind of gal because once I write something down, I will remember it without much problem.

So today I took 20 minutes to make up a rough schedule for our days while the boys are out of school and Jason is learning how far technology will transform the way ministry is done during and most likely after this time of "social" distancing.

Okay, before I continue, I have a real problem with the term social distancing.  At a time like this, we absolutely have to find ways, and here is where technology is a blessing, to be in contact with each other.  Our extroverted friends need to be checked on because this is especially hard for them.  Our aging parents need to be contacted for the sake of love and making sure they are doing okay.  Parents with school age kids need to be checked in with to make sure they are not going completely crazy.  Everyone needs to check in with everyone!  I much prefer the term physical distancing because that is what we are being asked to do for each other, keep physical distance.

Rant over...

Back to what this blog post is intended to be about... Planning and scheduling during this crazy surreal time we are living through.

Today I sat down and planned out a loose schedule for myself and my boys while they are home from school.  Every day there will be chunks of time for reading, math, physical activity, speech exercises, social/emotional skills, time outside and music.  Once we get the full list of other activities from the boys' teachers those will be added to this list.  

But let's be honest, I'm not going to make my boys sit for long periods of time doing academic activities because 1) they won't and 2) that would totally suck for all involved.  So I put in a two hour chunk of time in the mornings and afternoons for Creative/Play/Education time.  There is Open time throughout the day, Nap/Quiet Time, meal time and family time.

I will try to add a picture of what the rough schedule looks like for the rest of our week.  Honestly, just putting this rough schedule together this afternoon has calmed my anxiety more than I thought it would.

I hope this helps some of you come up with a game plan, especially with those of you who have kiddos at home for the foreseeable future.

Peace and Love to you all!  This too shall pass brothers and sisters!

Until next time!

-Megan