What do you do when you literally can't leave your house? How do you show yourself, your kids, and your spouse the kindness you all need? How do you parent with grace during a pandemic?
I don't know about you, but my #coronacation has not been without its moments of intense frustration. There's been lots of yelling and time-outs and leaving the room to count to ten. I'll admit it here and now that I am not a model of patience, but this pandemic had truly tested my limits of that virtue.
I found a quote yesterday that I wish I had seen at the beginning of this whole thing.
When we started quarantine, I found it very easy to cling to my faith. It seemed like a natural thing to do. We were in the midst something unprecedented that literally shut down the whole world. Of course, we're going to ask God for help. I found myself praying for the pandemic to end, for the nurse and doctors and essential workers, for the teachers like myself who had to suddenly do everything virtually. I rarely found myself praying for my family, though, and as this thing continued to linger and slowly morphed into a way of life, I found myself praying less and less. And then on top of being stuck at home with a toddler, my husband also travels for work which started back up again about a month into quarantine.
"When you have a household of precious souls who are needy for your attention and care each day, the best way to prepare is on your knees."
So how have I been parenting with grace during this pandemic? Well, it's been a process; I'll tell you that. Some days, we watch a little too much TV. Some days we play outside with our neighbor without feeling guilty that we're technically not social distancing. Some days we do ABC yoga. (Shout out to Movlee's YouTube Channel!)
Each day, I do my best to be kind to myself. When it feels like I'm not doing enough as a parent, I try to push that #MomGuilt aside and focus on something positive. I did a load of laundry today. My son laughed while we played cars together. I finally folded the laundry that has been sitting in the basket for a week (or probably longer...). If God can show me grace and mercy, then I can certainly do the same for myself and my family.
My prayer life is sporadic at best, but I'm learning. This pandemic has taught me that instead of always asking God for what I think I need, I should, first and foremost, thank Him for all my blessings. My number one blessing is my family. So I'm making a goal to pray more for them, and I think by doing that, I'll be better equipped to parent with grace.
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