One blessing…A family’s way of honoring each other at a weekly award ceremony!
People worldwide are experiencing a multitude of stressors due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic. For moms and dads in particular, the challenges of trying to simultaneously be full-time parents and, often, full-time employees, have brought many a competent adult to the breaking point.
But then, out of the blue and often just when it is needed most, a friend reaches out with a word of support…a brother makes a daily effort to connect with his sister…an unexpected gift appears on a doorstep…or a child intuitively offers Mommy a huge hug.
These are just a few of the gifts parents are discovering as we inch our families forward -- moment by moment, day by day -- through the single most momentous global happening in a century.
As stated so eloquently in a recent Esalen Institute newsletter:
“No other moment in recent history has brought the world together on one singular path quite like the COVID-19 pandemic…reminding us that this juncture is allowing us to strengthen our connection with ourselves and each other even more. By doing so, we have the capacity to expand our human potential in ways we may have never imagined.”
In my work as a parenting coach and through my philanthropic service, I’ve been hearing about the many unintended gifts of this time -- and the inherent beauty of the directive to “shelter” at home. For what else ought our homes be for our children and are families if not a shelter and sanctuary from an invisible enemy?
And when could it be more important than right now, when our compliance can quite plainly mean the difference between life and death?
Here is just a sampling of the ‘gifts’ I’ve been hearing about:
· Being able to FaceTime one’s parents every day
· Dropping off a box of presents and singing “Happy Birthday” to a 5-year-old (from a safe distance!)
· Beginning a tradition of weekly family meetings
· The privilege of having jobs we can perform remotely, providing incomes to care for our families
· A 12-year-old’s suggestion that her family create handmade COVID-19 awards for one another and bestow them weekly in a ceremony complete with a podium and Olympic music; her mother’s prized award to date is the ‘Best at Admitting You Were Wrong’ Award!
· One mother of two hadn’t realized just how much she missed her busy 3rd grader until schools closed; she is now savoring this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend more time with both her girls
· A profusion of craft-making and game-playing
· “Found time” with college-aged kids who know they are safe and wanted back at home
· Families becoming “communities” committed to fully participating in all the chores required to make a house a home
· Zoom or other video-enabled gatherings to continue celebrating birthdays and other important occasions -- and simply to reconnect with friends with whom we’ve lost touch in the busyness of life before the pandemic
· Family pets that offer unconditional love 24/7 -- and a reason to get much-needed exercise
· Being mindful of what brings us meaning rather than simply checking items off a to-do list
A final thought: Globally, there are many, many parents less privileged by race, geography and systemic inequities who are unable to provide for their children’s most basic needs or shield them from the effects of the coronavirus and the impact of lost livelihoods. If you are able, consider giving of your resources to organizations helping families in need both in your local communities and worldwide.