Mother’s Day May 10th 2020
Mothers Growing in Recovery (even when we’re told to stay still)
Raise your hand if you have a child or children home with you 24/7 since the middle of March? That’s right, life as we know it totally flipped on us. All I have is my own personal experience but I’d be glad to hear yours and get idea’s on getting through this with us all in tact and we all still love and care for each other when it’s all over! Plus, my recovery and my sanity are intact, in fact, if it’s at all possible, maybe, just maybe I/we can grow some through this experience. It sure has brought families a lot closer together.
I know that your experiences are varied, some of you have babies, some elementary kids, some high school and some have college kids that had to come back home. All different ages at varying degrees of educational levels, not to mention attitudes. Some kids have special needs and trying to keep up with all of their needs can be nothing short of impossible. But yet, you have to do it. Some of you have continued to work while having to leave your kids at home or somewhere, which doesn’t sound entirely safe either, but what choice do you have?
I’m not here to try to answer any or all of those questions or know all the answers for everyone, all I know is that you do need to tend to your own recovery in the process, in fact, you may have to make it the priority in all this because if you faulter now, they all suffer.
How do you do that? If you’re feeling successful or successful enough in doing this right now please share how you are doing it. If not really feeling all that successful, please share why not.
In regards to your recovery and sanity, how are you handling it? Zoom meetings? Reading literature at home? Working on a step or two? Writing? Calling your sponsor regularly and talking to your friends in recovery? Maybe reading, exercise, binge watching Netflix or something. I think I spent too much time watching the news on the Rona for the first three weeks or so.
Maybe youmaking plans and setting goals. Or, going for walks and drives, just to get out and about. One of our favorite things to do these days is going to the dump! Lol, we all get to go and get out of the house, the dump is out of the town a couple miles and afterwards we take a drive through the great outdoors. Maybe stop, let the kid and the dog run and get fresh air and exercise.
For me, music helps. I love music, I have missed going to a couple of concerts and shows I may have gone to in this time we’ve been quarantined. But that’s ok, as long as we’re all safe and sound. And of course, writing is my biggest outlet.
I want to share with you that I live in an area where we have experienced a drought for several years running and the water police said we couldn’t water our yards, so my grass in the front yard died. I tried to put some succulent plants and a little décor. I refused to put those tiny rocks that everyone was doing because I knew I wanted grass back some day. I’ve tried to re-grow the grass for the last four years and it just really isn’t happening so we decided to get the fake stuff. I was like one or two days away from buying it, we talked to the people and everything. Then, boom, quarantined.
So, on Easter Sunday the boy and I planted grass. Sounds simple but it wasn’t. My husband said not to get my expectations up. I didn’t. But guess what? It’s coming up! Yay. I’m so excited. We’ve done a couple of home improvement projects since we’ve been quarantined. That helps lift our spirits too and keeps me busy, focusing on positive and constructive things. The grass is growing and so am I.
So, there’s lots of ways to keep our spirits up and our recovery blooming. Please share with us how you have been doing it.
Question of the Week: How are you growing in your recovery? What are you doing to keep yourself sane and intact? How are your children and those you live with handling it? Helpful hints for the rest of us?