Wow, so much has changed since last month. More than I possibly ever could have imagined. I laughed as I logged in to write my monthly blog post and caught sight of the post I wrote last month. Letting Go of Busy. Hah! I think it’s safe to say with a shelter in place order in effect my busy days are over for now.

My husband and I are both home. He already works from home so that was fortuitous and I have been able to adjust my schedule to do my work by phone. It’s not the best use of my social worker connecting skills but currently it’s safest for me, baby, my patients and their families. We are both grateful to have work and have each other during this time.

Tomorrow is my husband and my 5 year anniversary of marriage and 11 years of being together. We had plans to take a little staycation/babymoon trip but that, like so many other things, has been cancelled. Instead we might order take out for the first time in awhile and have a picnic at home. We made the abrupt switch from eating out many a night (my motivation to cook and sometimes even just eat has been low throughout this pregnancy) to cooking in for every meal.

We already spend a lot of time together but we realize that we’re pretty good quarantine partners. Things haven’t exactly been low stress but we have not had any disagreements or cross words. The uncertainty of the future makes me nervous for so many reasons but for now I am counting my blessings. Our quarantine-aversary will be one for the books for sure. I haven’t quite wrapped my brain around bringing a baby into this brave new world we will hopefully emerge into, but I trust she has a plan for herself and our growing family.

I’ll leave you with 4 tips shared by trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk about getting through this time. I found it to be helpful. 1. Structure (try to stick to a schedule) 2. Connection (reach out and use the technology we have…hello zoom party!) 3. Movement (yoga, walk, stretch, dance) 4. Practice Competencies (we are all good at something, practice that as much as you can)