Adapting to this challenging time can be difficult. But I know in the very near future we will be spending time once again socializing with our family and friends, enjoying our area beaches and gathering for special occasions.
We hope the stories from this month's SW FL Parent & Child continue to serve your family. Some, like our travel story, may help you escape the anxiety and stress of this temporary normal we're all experiencing. Others may provide you with information that will be helpful later. And still others aim to provide you with guidance and expert advice to help your family weather this strange new storm.
P&C: See the entire May 2020 issue of SW FL Parent & Child magazine.
Editor's Note
From the May 2020 issue of SW FL Parent & Child
Whiny dogs, stir-crazy kids, anxious husband, work deadlines, a constant stream of bad news — it’s enough to test the patience of the sanest among us. And my kids are teens, able to navigate the online learning environment by themselves. For all you parents with younger children, my sympathy. (However, teens are not necessarily easy. My son, who has always been a very good kid, sneaked out of his room in the middle of the night mid-April. How do you deal with that? You can’t ground him; he’s already “grounded” thanks to safer-at-home measures.) The weeks since spring break have been full of uncertainty and major upheaval. Our kids miss their friends. They’re missing out on end-of-year celebrations and milestones. My senior was especially disappointed to miss Grad Bash, and he’s hoping against hope that graduation happens. How do we cope? Together.
As separated as we are physically, it’s the “We’re all in this together” attitude that helps me. It helps to know I’m not the only one whose income has been impacted. I’m not the only one working from home while dogs bark and whine for attention and family members goof off or watch movies nearby. I’m not the only one who can’t focus on work sometimes and must go for a walk around the neighborhood to clear my head or hide in the bathroom to write my editor’s note. I know I’m not alone because of the sidewalk chalk drawings, the posts of good deeds on social media, the camaraderie in my office’s team chat.
We’ll get through this by supporting each other. Check on your neighbors (with appropriate physical distance). Offer to pick up supplies for others before you go to the store. Lend an ear by phone or Zoom. Play your drum kit. Dance in the street if it strikes you. Joy spreads joy. Seeing others experience a happy moment makes us feel good. Look for the good. And listen to your kids. They need your guidance now more than ever. Even the model student you never thought would sneak out in the middle of the night like an ’80s teen movie.
I promise you this won’t last forever. The light at the end of the tunnel might already be kindling now.
