It is important every so often to stop and reflect. Reflect on the past, the present, and the future. Maureen recently shared this idea and reminded us that one year ago things started getting intense and going sideways with the Pandemic.
In the New England area, where Maureen lives, it got particularly scary and intense because the "Biogen Meeting' at a Boston Marriott ended up being a massive super spreader in her area. Everything got shut down overnight.
She remembered at one point praying and meditating about all that was going on last March...asking WHY!? what's happening?
The answer she got back was so clear:
Its short term pain, for long term gain
At that time it made no sense to her, but it brought comfort at the time and throughout the ups and downs of 2020 as she kept remembering that phrase. Now, a year later, she thinks back to where she was "then vs now" and it makes her head spin!
Maureen realized now is truly a great time to PAUSE AND THINK ABOUT:
Where was I? What was I doing?
What goals and plans did I have exactly a year ago?
What have I learned from then to now, and have I made a necessary shift?
I thought about those questions Maureen asked. This week we were on Spring Break with the kids in St. Augustine for a few days. As we were playing putt-putt one day, it reminded me of one year earlier being at a putt-putt place in Fernandina and my wife and I started getting emails about the kids being out of school the next week. Slowly but surely each week before us starting getting canceled and our life before us was starting to change or disappear: school, sports, events, etc. We started to get that terrible feeling when we saw our freedom and independence slip away. The one thing I agreed with my wife early on about not ever having to do was homeschool our kids. Now, she had to start doing that will all 3 boys...indefinitely! Luckily I already worked from home and we were able to start to pivot to this new sense of reality (and it gave us even more determination to pull off Grit Camp last summer to get the kids out of the house!). Some things may not ever come back to normal and that is ok. Like the lady at the Alligator Farm doing a presentation on stage with just her and a few animals. We are outside and the next closest person to her is 20 feet away, but she is wearing a mask talking into a microphone. We couldn't understand a word she said. So we might have to get used to those types of things moving forward, but we can manage.
Looking back over the past year, I am grateful for the experience of our family 'losing' our freedom so that we could enjoy all of the little things we started to earn back along the way. It made us appreciate all of the little things that previously we took for granted like getting to hug our elders, getting to play organized sports, the kids going to school and being around friends, and all of the benefits of interacting with others.
So this week I encourage you to reflect on Maureen's questions. Use this time as reflection to appreciate what we have learned and apply it how we can make today count.
Spring Break 2021: Charles (5), Max (8), and Stone (13) pictured below