These days, many of us have been diving into everything DIY. Who would have guessed it took a pandemic to force us to turn to ourselves for our solutions. We are baking bread, making masks, growing our own food, being our own advocates.
At least I am anyway, and judging from the empty flour shelves in the grocery stores, I think you might be too.
The shift to this new way of life has many facets. Now home is both a sanctuary and a schoolhouse. It would be different had we intended for it to be this way. We could have planned better, at least for the schoolhouse part. We could have bolstered the sanctuary part. Or at least upgraded to broadband.
But here we are, for better or for worse. Life is the curriculum, home is the model, as they say.
But what if this new life at home can be colorful (which is my euphemism for challenging)? Do we completely lose the sanctuary part? How do we strike the balance between respite and lockdown? If we didn't really have balance before, how do we ever find it now? I wrestle with these questions often.
And how many more kisses have to be blown on Zoom before we can actually give a friend a hug?
This world has seen so many advances, which now precariously hold up all the fragile pillars of modern life. Now we can pick up a phone and have a video chat with our loved ones across the country (or further), but we can't meet our neighbor for lunch. Something seems amiss. But also something seems strangely like it will be alright.
Today, Scott took the younger boys on a walk to the beach while our oldest boy had a virtual sitter, so to speak. It was beautiful and they had a wonderful time playing in the sand, throwing sticks and stones.
They came back to the house and worked on their handwork, had nuts, carrots and greens for their snack, played music and played spy.
I can't think of a better day for little boys.
I suppose I'm realizing, even in the loss of friends, organized curriculum, time away from parents, etc, the kids still are faring just fine.
Today I am starting to realize we will never have that elusive balance, at home or back at school and work. The fact is, there really is no balance between respite and lockdown. The two exist simultaneously in our lives right now. Some days one weighs more than the other. But our job is to do our best to try to hold them both. We will always be chasing balance, feeling wobbly, even sometimes falling over. We will occasionally lament that our lives are clogged, challenging and colorful, forgetting that color is the very stuff of life.
I realize so much of what we can give now is what mothers and fathers have been giving to their babies for hundreds of years, lockdown or not-
- an appreciation for life and the earth
- a sense of curiosity
- a sense of self worth
- a capacity for empathy
- a colorful experience.
I'm going to get after it tomorrow. These boys have a lot of ground to cover.
ABCDE's of melanoma. C- Color is beautiful in life, but concerning in a mole.
Is your mole uniform in color? Two toned? Three? Are the colors regular or speckled and faded? Complexity of color in a mole should be addressed. Do it and don't wait.
xo,
Dr. Swae