Baby Steps

March 11, 2020:  I will never forget the day that this Covid 19 pandemic became real to me.  Not only because this unprecedented event caused life to turn upside down, but also because it was my son Steven’s 32^nd birthday.  My husband and I were driving to Jacksonville for The Player’s Golf Tournament, an event my brother Bob and sister-in-law Cathy invites us to each year.  We called Steven in NY to wish him a Happy Birthday.  He was shocked the event wasn’t cancelled because at that time NY was deep in the effects of this virus and in quarantine.  Here in Florida, it was still a non-event.

That was not going to last long however, because after only one day at the tournament, they cancelled it and we were driving back home. Little did I know that it was the last time I would be with anyone other than my husband for a long time.

That was 6 months ago.  In some ways it seems like years, and in others like yesterday.

We were on Spring Break from work that week but it became very clear that we were going to have to take action to prevent the spread of this virus.  The schools went to virtual instruction which was quite an undertaking. 

I found myself working from the office in my home, running meetings virtually, and training people in how to navigate through this new reality. 

It was a new reality working from home at first. 

• I had my own private bathroom. 
• I had control of the temperature in my office.
• I had to reorganize my office space so that it worked for my job. 
• It felt like work was infiltrating my personal space which I always considered sacred. 
• I was alone the whole workday (except of course for virtual togetherness).

It was one day after a week or so into this new work/home life that I found myself sinking into a bad funk.  My eating habits were worsening and sadness would come over me out of nowhere.

It was at that moment that I realized I needed to take my current situation and turn it into a positive one for me.

• I committed to walking every day.
• I downloaded My Fitness Pal and started entering everything I ate.

These relatively small changes have helped me in countless ways.  I got motivated to open my Etsy shop and eventually to create this website and write this blog. 

It is the small changes we make in our daily routine that sometimes have the biggest effects on us. 

• Meditate each day
• Park further from your destination
• Choose a way you can take better control of one aspect of your diet
• Spend time outdoors
• Listen to motivational/self-help books from your library

Find one small activity you can do for yourself today.

Commit to it for a week. 

You are worth it!