We are all feeling the stress of what is happening to our country right now. I do, you do, and so does everyone else. It is hard not to when you know that there is a virus out there that can kill you.
I am seeing a lot of fear that is being caused by You Tube videos, the media, the underground, my state leaders (one of whom has his mug on TV every day), and many other sources. They are all trying to control you.
When people can’t have control, they get frightened. It is natural for you and I to want to control our lives and that is not happening right now.
So what you do to cut down on your stress and fear is to control what you can control. Turn the news off! Don’t have it on day in and day out. The only news we watch here is the President and his task force once a day. If we happen to miss it, we know that we can catch it later on You Tube. Other than that, we just look at the NYS map online to see how many new cases there are in our area.
We don’t watch the underground and the conspiracy theorists on You Tube. They love to incite fear.
We go about our days the way we always have but without leaving the house. I actually have taken this time to spring clean my home. This is the time of year I would be doing it anyhow. When the sun is shining like it is today, it gives me the perfect mood to work on it. I put on some music we love and we go about our day. Hubby isn’t sure when our landscaping people will be allowed to come so he is doing a little trimming outside himself. Both of these things keep us busy. Mindless work is good for everyone.
I always cook a nice meal twice a day and I continue to do that. Last night we had a sheet pan meal of loin pork chops(Hubby had been begging for pork chops) and potatoes. I actually have not eaten a potato in over 13 months. They tasted so good. All I did was put the chops and the large diced potatoes on a greased sheet pan. I seasoned everything with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, and parmesan cheese. I roasted it all in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. The chops were thick but everything came out perfectly done. The loin chops were so juicy because I coated them with the olive oil before I seasoned them. We chose not to have anything else with it. The chops were so big that we only ate half. It will make a nice brunch today. We have big salads a lot for brunch which we did yesterday so we had our daily allotment of veggies.
Another stress reliever for us is to watch movies, work on a jigsaw puzzle, read a book, do some crossword puzzles, or play a card or board game.
A big stress reliever for me is to exercise whether that be the bike, treadmill or with a video. I always feel so much better afterwards.
On the nice days, we try to get outside in the yard. Yesterday we sat outside for a bit and watched the neighbor kids enjoying a game of catch. It was nice to see kids outside playing and enjoying themselves.
If you are working from home, go outside with your kids during your free time or lunch time. Take a quick walk. They need to get outside after being cooped up all day doing their classes online.
I have lived a very long time. I am on my way to mid 70’s. It’s a rough time for our country but we have been through many rough times before. Americans are resilient and we will get through it together!
Many people are unemployed temporarily. Many are being paid to work from home and many who are being paid are not working at home. Many people have seen their 401K’s and their savings tanking. We all have different circumstances. But we all are praying and hoping that there will be an end to this soon. That this nasty virus will peak and then eventually go away.
Thousands of healthcare workers go to work everyday to help the sick. They are the real heroes here. Their selflessness is to be praised. I pray for them every day.
There will be an end to this. The country will get back to normal. Our economy will recover and we will get back to our normal lives. Of that I am sure.
So if you haven’t already, open your curtains and blinds, let that beautiful sunshine in! Get outside today and breathe in that fresh air.
I am hoping you all have a good one!