A Family Growing Together
In this video, we share with you a little glimpse of how our family got by during the pandemic and lockdowns of 2020-2021. It hit us hard, but we did our best to stay balanced and calm during the uncertainty that was surrounding us.
2020 saw a lot of changes for us as a family unit, as well as for us as individuals. Being at home together 24/7 brought on challenges that none of us were prepared for. In March 2020, I was just beginning to get back on my feet again after recovering from a brain injury (more on this later) and spinal cord injury. My chorus and I were working around the clock, it seems, on perfecting the timing and pitch of each note for our upcoming regional competition. The pressure was on us. We had big shoes to fill this year as we were winners of the previous year’s “Most Improved Chorus” award. So, all eyes were on us to shine in the realm of Barbershop Singing.
News was beginning to spread about a virus, and I was guided to share my thoughts in an article posted on March 22, 2020. The guidance I received calmed my fears and assured me that the storm would blow over soon. I was constantly guided to have patience and to seek joy, happiness, and inner peace … even when none of that was around me. At the time, the world’s situation felt like there were storms all over and rough seas ahead. I was guided to pull all my energy back home to focus on my family's needs, as well as to focus on my own healing journey.
In order to fulfill the requests from my inner guidance to find balance, I needed to let go of a lot of things. My musical aspirations needed to be put on hold in order for me to continue to maintain my family home/life balance. It wasn’t an easy decision to make at all, but I resigned from my position in the chorus to focus on my family’s needs. That was very difficult to let go of because I worked so very hard learning every note of every song and was really beginning to perfect my timing. I was also just asked to be part of a quartet and that would have fulfilled another dream of mine. For another time, I guess?
All at once, it felt like life got tossed upside down when the kids got sent home to learn online. Right from the beginning, it presented so many challenges for us to address. Without much warning, the kids were learning from home and all their activities were canceled. They were frustrated, sad, confused, depressed, you name it. Not only was the online learning system a difficult challenge, but the kids didn’t get to experience any of the activities one would expect at their ages. They were all mourning the loss of their activities, just like I was mourning the loss of having to leave my chorus family. So, we all helped each other get through it together – the best we could, day-by-day, and one step at a time.
I planted a super-spectacular garden and brought in as much color as I could to try and cheer everyone up. My oldest teenager told me she loves sunflowers, so I made sure I planted one for her to look at everywhere she went outside. When I felt like they needed a pick-me-up, I would go out and pick a bouquet of the brightest color flowers I could find and design an arrangement for their bedroom. A lot of things I did went virtually unnoticed and that’s okay because I feel like it helped us to stay calm and relaxed as much as we could be, instead of feeling angry and frustrated. Emotional outbursts are common among some of the inhabitants of my home, so I’m always trying to learn new ways of balancing the teenage energies.
I was continually guided to stay calm, patient, and focused on doing the best I could with the skills, resources, and tools I had. At times, I was brought to my knees begging for mercy and other times challenged the very essence of my being. I spent a lot of time in the garden, in meditation, and with my yoga practices. It saved me. To my surprise, at the end of every day, I seemed to have enough in me to do what I needed to do when I needed to do it. To the best of my ability, I showed up for my kids and tried to be an example of strength and stability in the face of adversity. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise when I discovered that I had far more skills and abilities I never knew I had.
These past two years have been quite challenging, to say the least. We have all learned lessons both the easy way and the hard way, and we don’t beat ourselves up because both ways lead to the same realizations. I have learned to approach each challenge as just another step up on the ladder of life lessons. Yogic philosophy teaches us to observe with detached interest, so we can fully respond to what is going on in the present moment.
I set up some areas outside for the kids to unwind, take in some sun, and have fun with their friends. Discovering a new bug you’ve never seen before or the brightest yellow flower are really wonderful ways to reconnect with nature and get back into a state of balance. There are endless ways of entertaining kids outside and so many things just waiting to be discovered by their inquisitive little minds.
Yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises all help to refocus the mind and help you get more out of life. Employing these teachings in my life over the past few years has definitely helped me to remain calm and focused on what is important to me. We hope you enjoy this video presentation of our year in review and it inspires you to get outside and start living your best life! Namaste!
