Life Lag

Have you ever experienced jet lag? I sure have. You feel exhausted, you move at a slower pace and you have a hard time getting back to your normal routine. COVID can make us feel like that. We were tired before and COVID has heaped on more job loss, sickness, fear and anxiety. People are tired, anxious, moving at a slower pace and they just want to get back to their normal routine. I call this life lag. Do you feel life lag?
Years ago, we had an exhausting 23-hour adventure getting home from a family holiday. As we were challenged by cancelled flights and long layovers, we were also receiving texts from our pet sitter saying that our cat was very sick. We arrived home in the middle of the night. I took one look at our sweet little pet and I knew, something was terribly wrong. An hour later I was sitting at an emergency vet clinic with a diagnosis that there was nothing they could do to save her. On top of my jet lag, life had just hit.
So, what did I do? Exactly what we should be doing during COVID.
I cleared everything off my long list that would add unnecessary stress to my life and that did not matter and I focused on ruthless self-care. I knew I could not be a depleted mom and be a support to my depleted family at the same time. I slept a lot. I prepared nourishing meals 90% of the time and I ordered food in on 10% days. I fought my usual coping mechanism to keep busy and instead we made a long list of fun things each of us wanted to do. We snuggled on the couch and watched happy movies each evening. We talked a lot about how we felt and we cried when we needed to cry.
What do you do to overcome your jet lag? Do you nap? Are you kinder to yourself and those you love? Do you slow things down? Why not do that now?
We need to take care of ourselves and the people we love so we can overcome life lag and get back to our normal routine.
Take care of you!

Difficult Days

I remember the last time I saw my grandma. I remember walking into that hospital and down that long hall to her room. The very kind nurse said, “She is not responding to anyone, but you can sit with her.” I slowly entered the dimly lit room where my grandma laid with her eyes closed. I moved the chair to her bedside and held her frail hand. Though I had thanked her so much for all she had done for me I wanted to thank her one last time. I thanked her for being such a loving grandma to me and for all the wonderful memories she gave me. I kissed her forehead and whispered through my tears, “You know how much I love you, right?” My grandma slowly opened her eyes, looked right into my soul and said, “I know” and squeezed my hand. She closed her eyes. I never saw her again.
That was a really difficult day for me. To be resilient means to recover quickly from difficult situations. I drove home all those years ago thinking about how resilient you would need to be to work in health care. As I am preparing to speak to hundreds of health care employees virtually this fall, I am learning, it is difficult. Some are not recovering quickly. Health care employees are taught to put the patient first. What I want to say to all health care workers now is: You have certainly been resilient, and you are continuing to do so! Please do what you can to put yourself first. Build up your resiliency by doing a small thing each day to show yourself the love you show your patients. I know it is hard when we are tired and depleted but you have to believe you are worth taking care of too. Then, when all of this is over my hope is that you get the recovery time you so deserve to overcome these really difficult days.
Take special care of you!

Feeling Very Blessed

Feeling very blessed to wake up to a live event today and in the mountains no less!
It is a grounded, positive feeling to share the room with real human beings again.

Make a Choice

Wow, after 18 months I am back in the airport. It is a bit surreal. I don’t know the staff at the airline anymore, some of the restaurants are closed and it is so quiet!
Of course I am excited to get back to travelling. I miss the alone time, meeting people who aren’t on a computer screen, beds I didn’t make and food I didn’t cook!
I will miss being home too. Delivering virtual presentations each week has been really amazing. My business and my home have never been more organized and my pets are going to need therapy now that I am travelling again!
Even if your life might not look like it did before, let’s CHOOSE to put our 90% magnifying glass in front of us. Let’s focus on what is good, so we can make a CHOICE to bring a positive attitude with us.

A Perfect 90%

Everyone has their own vision of what a perfect life is but striving for perfection can also have a negative impact. An obsession to conquer the negative 10% can make you turn a blind eye to the existing 90% that is good in your life. Why risk losing control over the 90% to try and conquer the 10%? Accept your 10%, and eat, sleep and live your life happily knowing that you are not perfect.

Look Up

As we journey through life, we look up to or admire different people along the way. When we are kids, we look up to superheroes (hopefully mom & dad lol) and when we are older, we look to those that can help us through the challenges of our journey. People will instinctively gravitate to a leader who is kind, who sets the example, who nurtures both the person and work environments. Being the best you can be to make a difference in someone else’s life is truly rewarding. It’s always better to be looking up, than looking down.

The Not So Red Carpet

I arrive home from an exhausting day, open the door, confetti drops from the ceiling, flash bulbs are going off, people are cheering, I turn and wave and … then my alarm goes off, and I awake to a reality check. My life is not red-carpet walks, not many lives are, but my dream of walking into a caring home comes true 90% of the time. I work hard at it, as a family we all do, because at the end of the day, family is what matters most. I love what I do, and am content to watch those red carpet walks on TV with my family.