My Two Writing Teachers colleagues and I are hosting the 13th Annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge, in which hundreds of teachers participate in posting a story per day.
Dear Kids,
The other day I wrote about how my therapist friend gave me a strategy for dealing with anxiety and panic called “grounding,” where you name five things you can see, smell, taste, feel, and touch. I’m finding that I need to be more and more intentional about keeping myself calm these days, as the pandemic becomes more and more serious.
Today it became clear that we can no longer skin the mountain to ski. It’t not that we aren’t allowed to, per se. There is a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order in place, which is basically shelter-in-place like they would do for a natural disaster. But until yesterday we were still skinning and skiing—just avoiding other people and keeping a safe distance from germs. But today, through text messages and chats, my friends and I all decided that it just isn’t responsible to skin and ski anymore. If someone were to fall and break a bone, or even just get a bad cut or head wound, we would be putting the EMTs at risk, and ourselves at risk for having to go to the hospital. So, sadly, I think our last day of skiing was Saturday. At least it was a good one. (Jackson, at six years old, bootpacked all the way to the top of Sterling Mountain and skied with all of us like a champ!)
So today, my coping strategy is to concentrate on things I am grateful for. I learned that gratitude is a powerful strategy for coping for stress. Here are ten things I am grateful for right now:
I am grateful for the extra time I get to spend with the two of you during all of this.
I’m grateful for our house and our yard that give us space to work and play.
I’m grateful that your dad is a good cook!
I’m grateful that Indie loves to snuggle.
I’m grateful that we have good, strong, fast internet at our house.
I’m grateful for my friends who text me funny things all day long and force me to come out of hiding.
I’m grateful that everyone in our family is healthy right now.
I’m grateful for the nurses, doctors, building custodians, grocery store and gas station employees, and everyone else who is still going to work despite how risky it is right now.
I’m grateful for all of the teachers and principals I work with in our district. I am SO grateful I get to live and work in this district.
I am grateful that we live in a beautiful place where there are lots of outdoor spaces we can escape to.
I love you both so much.
Love,
Your Mom