What will you make of today?

I wanted to begin my post following up on Madeline’s thoughts from Tuesday, “How will you look back on this time when our doors are re-opened and we are again able to spend time again with each other?” This is becoming an increasingly important decision for many of us. Should I read the news and stay informed or should I carry on knowing there is not much more I can do beyond social distancing? For me, it has been a challenge to create a healthy balance. I, as many, need to keep trying!

As a therapist, I always ask the same question as I complete initial client intake meetings. “If I could grant you three wishes, what would they be?” For kids, I get all kinds of answers: video games, my parents to stop fighting, a million dollars, just to name a few. However, for adults, I almost always get “more time” as one of the three wishes. I have been trying to focus on that over the last week. Most of us have been given the gift of extra time. Well, sort of. Recently, we have been inundated with requests for more online meetings, more “zoom” sessions to come together and more opportunities to work and socialize online, all while we get interrupted by several “Breaking News” reports that entice us to click over. Again, we need to find that balance! Balance the meetings you choose to attend and the news you choose to read with the opportunities to use your extra time wisely. Do you want to remember this time as a time when you grew closer to the most important people in your life and took advantage of the extra minutes in a day when you did not have to commute to work? I know I do. As I posted a few days ago, social distancing and staying healthy are what we ALL can do today. Our mental health is vital at this time as well. So, take time to enjoy this beautiful day (it is beautiful in NY), get some sunshine, play an outside game and take the opportunity to enjoy a few laughs, if possible. For me, I might just torment my family and wear my wedding dress to dinner! (I saw this on Linkedin today and appreciated the reality!)