Going into our eighth week of quarantine over here and like all of us, I’m perceiving the shifts not only in our day to day, procedural normal, but also on a deeper, more elemental level. Professionally we’re all busy pivoting. Pivoting product offerings, remote processes, a new customer experience in these unusual times. That’s all good and necessary. For the most part, AD co.'s pivoting involves Zoom calls with clients and teams we can't travel to, face masks on site, and a little delay in availability of contractors and materials. Our team hasn’t worked together in the same space for about two months, which still feels so weird, but I’m extremely proud of my girls for pushing through and keeping our projects going.
Our kitchen table aka home office.
What I’m feeling is more on a personal level and maybe you are too. I knew going into 2020 that we needed to make some changes in our family's routine and resources in order to thrive. And then of course, here we are, in times no one could have imagined. This is not the means by which any of us expected to learn how to recalibrate, but after two long months and "normal" that feels like a lifetime ago, there are some things I can't wait to get back to and some things I'm determined to leave in the past.
These are pictures I took of Eva as a baby; my favorite moment going down the stairs in the morning.
As we begin to slowly usher in our new lives, these are some pivots I will fight to maintain, even as things start to ramp back up:
Chaotic morning rush > > Gratefully preparing for the day
Pivotting from a "have to" to "get to" mentality. Taking time to set myself up for a more manageable morning. Not checking my phone first thing. Giving my kids more responsibility and independence getting themselves ready (ie- stop being such a control freak....hello.) Drinking a glass of water before my coffee. Actually drinking my coffee.
Supervising my kids >> Having fun with my kids
To be super honest, it's so easy as a parent to think that taking care of basic needs and getting to bedtime is thriving. Ok, maybe it doesn't ever even feel like thriving. More like surviving. I'm not saying I need or even want to be a Pinterest-perfect parent. I want my kids to see me living my life as an example of a mother and woman who is in her home and in her place in the world and all that goes along with those things. But I do know that I want to engage more. Take time for conversations and walks and the funny, weird things they like doing. This time has taught me that I was missing out on some of that and I am so thankful for that gift of a lesson. Especially as my mom fights a bleakly diagnosed cancer, I know now more than ever that time is to be cherished and protected above all else.
Lookin' so serious. This kid is anything but!
Creative time as required >> Required creative time
I've been doing my best to spend an hour in my creative zone, whether painting, writing, or sketching product with no deadline or reason. Just to do it. Just to keep the flow. And it has been everything to me and my work professionally. I plan on protecting this time at all costs.
Occasional contact >> Ongoing conversation
I can't believe it's true, but my three best girlfriends and I have been friends for almost thirty years. And I'm only 34! We have known each other literally our whole lives. We all live in different cities and are in different places in life but have kept in touch and have been close forever. But it's not been until now that we started this funny group text that has truly been on of the things that has kept me going. It's a precious lifeline that I'm so thankful for and I know it won't fade away when this blows over. The same can be said for contact with my two brothers who also live in different cities. Being socially distant has brought us all closer and for that I am immensely grateful.
Snapped on evening bike ride with the girls.
I hope you find your own silver lining in these times that are so trying and know that if you're having troubling finding the good, you're not alone and are loved and thought of. As we ever so slowly begin to make our way back into the world as it now is, I hope we hold tight to what we've learned, stay safe, and love each other and ourselves in a more profound way than ever before.
xo,
