Spring Break Almost Broke Me
As many of you have joked, I am writing to you from the future.
In this case, the future is in Japan where, after three weeks of distance learning, we are now finishing a week-long spring break … A socially distant spring break … without friends ... with little to no social interactions ... without playgrounds or restaurants. You know, the spring break we all dream of. (AHHHHH!!!!)
For me, spring break introduced more challenges than any other week so far. The first few days were marked with relief; fewer expectations, less work, fewer roles to play at home and a bit more breathing room.
“Want cereal for breakfast, lunch and a snack? Sure!! It’s spring break!”
One highlight included Liam's idea to stage and record a family Chopped competition with the ingredients of Ritz crackers, apples, and bread. Paul won by making french fries with bread crusts. I’m pretty sure this means he wins the kitchen and I can give up culinary responsibilities indefinitely. Thank you, Paul.
The winning dish in our family’s Chopped competition.
So while our coronavirus experience has been filled with only relative and privileged stress, the last days of spring break have been trying as a parent. Very trying. My imagination is mere mortal -- a devastating truth to my children as they want me to play Garfield for the 7th day in a row. (Lying in the sun, purring and eating doesn’t cut it either -- I tried that.)
As parental energy runs low, anxiety is ratcheted up. With the Olympics officially postponed, it seems Tokyo is now ready to admit that this virus can spread here too. Imagine that -- in one of the most densely populated cities in the world. There are plenty of articles about why the spread of the virus has been slower here, but this seems to be enabling govt officials to either be in denial or just moving at a glacial pace. This weekend was the first that the mayor of Tokyo ‘requested’ that we ‘refrain’ from going out. The request, at our convenience, was ineffective as shops, restaurants and public transportation reflected a city appreciating its full spring glory. (Note: As I write this we are experiencing a highly unusual BLIZZARD. It rarely snows in Tokyo. It’s like Mother Nature is finally saying, “Stay the YH%& home Tokyo!”)
I started writing these posts as a stress reliever, and thanks to your encouragement, to share what I am learning a few weeks deeper into school closures. Let this week -- this challenging week -- be no exception. I have only one hard-won take-away from this week …
Don’t forget your positive habits
If positive habits are the foundation of our happiness, I need to make sure mine (and my family’s) remain intact. For me, this means exercise, sleep, healthy eating, and minimal drinking. (I know, I just laughed out loud too.) But in all seriousness, stress eating no longer hurts so good. Or at least I’m starting to realize the diminishing returns.
Just as in my ‘normal’ routine, I need to get my morning right to get my day right. Days work best when I can check off personal to-dos before active parenthood begins, like exercise and catching up with the world. For the first few weeks, it was easy to fall out of routine with the newness of it all. But as we begin Week 5, I need a rather urgent call in to my positive habits.
“40% of daily life is shaped by habit.”
One of the habits I am trying to hold on to is my daily entry into ‘The Five Minute Journal’. One of the questions I answer each morning is, “What would make today great?”. In the past two weeks, my most common answer has been, I kid you not, ‘be patient’. My productivity-minded, time-constrained self needs to be reminded that being patient is a major metric of success right now. Be patient, stay safe & healthy, and run a happy home are the major and most important goals right now … and perhaps always.
Thinking of you all, as always, as you approach your own ‘spring break’. May it not break you. Signing off from a snowy day in Tokyo.