"Keep Calm and Carry On" April 2020 W.I.S.H. Challenge

[Summer2018]

 

[Summer2018]

Just for fun...

 

[piglet1979]

Hello all,

I'm joining in again this month. A quick intro for any new friends I haven't met before My name is Sam and I join in from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. I am a solo mum to 3 DS19 (lives at home while he is at uni - it is not as big in Australia for kids to move away for college as it is in the US); DS16 and DD16. I turned 47 in January and things literally went down hill 3 days later! In the past week I have started to feel more like me than I have all year - despite being worried about Coronavirus! As I have had a very sedentary start to the year I have found myself right back where I started over a year ago on my weight loss/healthy life journey So here I go again and hoping to use what I learned over the past 18 months to continue and learn more strategies along the way. My sleep is DISRUPTED right now! I go to bed earlier than usual as I feel tired but then throughout the night I am waking and having trouble getting back to sleep, there are dreams (not that I always remember them - but I know they are there), and then waking earlier than I would like to start the day. Clearly my brain is not switching off from the anxiousness about the state of the world right now. We all know how IMPORTANT sleep is to our well-being and weight loss - is anyone else having sleep difficulty right now?

I started walking again 3 days ago - a - because I need to! and b - to get my gaming teens OUT OF THE HOUSE! DD16 is getting bored. We are right near the start of the school year in Australia - ours starts at the end of January - so things with schooling here are quite chaotic. Our Prime Minister has fought closing schools - last week was the last week of term 1 for many schools before Easter Break - so they moved to student free for the 5 days so that teachers/schools could prepare for online learning for term 2. The school situation will be reviewed in 2 weeks but at this stage we expect it to look like - online learning for most - except schools will be open for essential workers who have no-one else to look after their kids while that are at work. Which really only is an option for a certain time of day and we know our emergency workers work 24/7 shifts! As I work in the education system as an OT it is also affecting my work as there are less and less students to see but also I transitioned to work from home this week under GP recommendation due to some of my underlying health conditions. It was actually really nice yesterday - I set up in my shady courtyard, in the fresh air with a bush setting to look at from my garden. I did paperwork and had a video conference. Then late in the afternoon after my physiotherapy appointment the kids and I walked on the beach. Our beaches are also still open - but no sunbathing (eg laying on your towel) is allowed - social distancing is required but you can walk, jog, swim be otherwise active but you cannot sit still. I am sooooo hoping that people will continue to do the right thing as we head into the Easter Break here and not overcrowd the beach - because if that happens they will close the beach - and it is a great place to exercise and relieve some stress right now.

My goals for the month are to get back in the habit of catching up with all of you!
Be mindful of my eating whilst at home more
Exercise as is possible as things continue to evolve around us

@Summer2018 I am so sorry to hear about that loss very close to you

If no-one else can do it - I will volunteer for the last week as host.

Welcome back. I have been thinking about you. I am glad you are doing better.

I know I should probably post this in a DVC forum, but I thought I’d ask you lovely ladies firsts. I had to reschedule my mother-son April Disney trip. But the tickets I got (4-Park Magic Ticket) need to be used by September 30. So I’m trying to squeeze it in the last weekend of September because we have Mon Sept 28 off. But there are no studios available. I currently have two waitlists. I did Old Key West and Boardwalk. Anyone with DVC have experience with waitlisting? What are my odds of getting one?

Key West is so big I would be surprised if you weren’t able to get in.
Boardwalk is smaller, but you never know. Can you also waitlist Saratoga Springs or Animal Kingdom Lodge? SS was recently refurbished and they are both very large properties.

I don't own DVC but I follow someones Pre Trip Reports and she does own DVC. She wait lists a lot and always seems to get something. We are supposed to stay at Saratoga in August (we are most likely cancelling) so I have been following along with the rooms being redone. The only section that is completed is Congress Park. They just started on the other preferred section in January or February I think.

then next day she was sneezy - then had a pain in the chest - which she gets when she gets anxious - she had worried herself about 1) if she had corona and 2) that she had been close to her grandparents.

My understanding of this virus is that sneezing is not a symptom of it and a good way to tell if it is the virus or allergies. I hope she feels better.

 

[piglet1979]

I have my days with having more stress and anxiety. it is getting high again and I think it is because Nicks birthday is tomorrow and I feel bad that he can't have his normal birthday. He is turning 14 so he understands. We normally let the kids pick where they want to go for dinner and what kind of cake they want. He normally wants and ice cream cake. This year he still gets to pick dinner but just to made here at home. He picked his favorite chicken paprikash. Elizabeth is going to make him a cake as well. A german chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. We told him that we will take him shopping for a gift as soon as we are allowed. We will also have his party with family as soon as we are able to. He is good with all of this as he is my kid that just goes with the flow of everything. Nothing seems to phase him much. This all better be over by August or Elizabeth will not take it well.

Easter is another thing that I am having an issue with. We did order candy and 2 outfits each for their baskets but not all of it has been delivered yet. We will see when it gets here. We are also going to make a big holiday meal for the 4 of us just to keep it a special day. This all just makes me sad. I miss my family. We have gone much longer without seeing each other but this is killing me. I feel like I can cry at any moment.

For the most part though we have all been doing really good. We still have our normal schedules as Jeff and I are still working. Elizabeth has bought herself a guitar and it came on Saturday. She has been playing non stop since. She is teaching herself to play and is picking up on it quickly. Jeff and I have been going for walks which help but I want a different scenery. I got a flat tire on Friday. Thankfully we noticed while it was still in the driveway. We took it up Saturday to get fixed but had to wait until today to pick it because they didn't have that tire in stock. I had a few meeting this morning so Jeff was doing to pick it up without me. He decided to wait since he could tell I just wanted to get out. Just driving in a new place then what I see everyday was so nice.

I have been doing some cleaning but not a lot. I was lazy on Sunday. The only thing I did other then sit on the couch was clean a closet. We are working on cleaning the upstairs (kind of like a finished attic). We can only do a little bit each week. Our trash company is not picking up bulk or anything that does not fit in the can they gave us that they use an automatic arm thing to pick up. They are no longer going to touch the trash. So we can only get rid of what fits in the can.

 

[PollyannaMom]

This all just makes me sad. I miss my family. We have gone much longer without seeing each other but this is killing me. I feel like I can cry at any moment.

I know what you mean. I have moments like that too (and then others when I'm doing really well) - it's hard to predict.

 

[PollyannaMom]

 

[PollyannaMom]

 

[PollyannaMom]

 

[Oneanne]

Another one:

I forgive myself for the emails I won't read.
For the Zoom calls I won't attend.
For the capacity I won't have.
For the things I won't remember.
For the deadlines I won't make.
I forgive myself for being human during a pandemic.

 

[Summer2018]

It's funny that it is Motivational Monday, and I couldn't feel more unmotivated to work. I was on fire on Friday, and I did a lot.

My principal created a whole school video with mini videos and photos of teachers saying, "I miss you" or holding up signs that say, "I miss you." I filmed an emotional video clip and said, "I love you all! I miss you all! I can't wait to see you again!" The school video came out great. I emailed it to my class first thing this morning. After that, I was pretty unmotivated to do anything else. I was feeling the feels. No tears, just feeling emotional.

DD and I walked on the beach, and then came home for lunch. Usually I get to work again at that point, but I had no desire to do anything. I even dozed off for a while. I got lucky that the Music teacher sent me a music lesson for the kids, so I sent it out midday. They have new work packets, so they have plenty to do. I haven't heard from any families today. I wonder if they feel unmotivated too.

I checked in with my assistant. She was supposed to reach out to our Spanish-speaking parents by phone, but she was also feeling unmotivated. She promised to get to it before the end of the day. I told her that she could do it tomorrow, and I knew how she felt.

I am not depressed. I'm just really tired. I could totally go to sleep for the rest of the day. Of course that won't happen, because DH will be home from work in an hour. There will be the rush to straighten out the house, empty the dishwasher and reload it. Dinner is leftovers.

Tomorrow I will try again.

 

[Summer2018]

Another one:

I forgive myself for the emails I won't read.
For the Zoom calls I won't attend.
For the capacity I won't have.
For the things I won't remember.
For the deadlines I won't make.
I forgive myself for being human during a pandemic.

View attachment 486121

You read my mind. I needed to read this today. Thank you.

 

[Oneanne]

Had an emotional evening yesterday. I think the trigger was knowing that my company access was being re-set over night so I started spinning thinking I'd be totally cut-off, and going back thru the initial emotions of feeling rejected/cast-off, angry, worried about what comes next. I tossed and turned during the night then got up at 6:30am to see what signing on would be like and it was smooth as could be... no trouble getting to IE and Chrome, which is all I need to the coming weeks.

It's been a slow start to the day so far, I felt like I needed a nap around 10am and crawled back in to bed. I got out for my 'sunrise walk' around 11:30am, but I'm glad it was later because the cloud cover had burned off and it is sunny and almost warm outside. Yesterday was a no chores day, I think I'm going to continue that for Sunday's. I don't know that I'll get a lot done today, maybe just pull a few things up in the yard, since tomorrow is pick-up day. My seed starter trays came, now I just need the peat plugs, which I think come in the next day or so.

 

[Oneanne]

You read my mind. I needed to read this today. Thank you.

It came across my IG feed and I really needed to hear it as well.

 

[Summer2018]

My seed starter trays came, now I just need the peat plugs, which I think come in the next day or so.

I need to plant some seeds. Great idea.

 

[sjrec]

I need to plant some seeds. Great idea.

And flowers-I would love to plant some flowers.

it was such a glorious day I spent a good bit of it on the deck reading. I did get out on the trail for a walk but that’s about the extent of my ambitions today. And now I’m back on the deck catching up with all of you. Tomorrow is supposed to be overcast so I will do a few things on my list-it’s time to start getting out clothes for warmer weather and wash and put away the winter things. I am still motivated to eat healthy meals and haven’t given way to mindless snacking because I put a pair of capris on today that I thought would be a little looser considering what the scale said this morning. I think I am carrying weight differently as I get older. Sigh.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Tomorrow I will try again.

 

[Summer2018]

View attachment 486140

 

[sweetpeama]

We had our first tears over the safe at home order in Montana today. 12 year old brought her ipad to me with I see Olive Garden on her communication app using the digital picture exchange system. This is her way of saying that she wanted to go to Olive Garden. 15 year old and I had to explain to her that there is a bad bug that is making a lot of people very sick and that because of that the government has said people can't eat at resturants. We also told her that people can't go visit others so we would be having Easter at home just her, mama, sissy (what she calls 15 year old because she can't say 15 year old's actual name or sister), and daddy. I had 15 year old over to me so I could whisper quietly for her to see if DH was open to our getting a to go order tomorrow as he was getting ready for work. I was going though the collection of address labels sent to us by various organizations in attempts to find one with both DH and my names on one that was not a Christmas design so that we could get a sympathy card sent to some of DH's cousins. His aunt passed away Saturday morning from a stroke she had before all this started. I also had a card to send to a friend of mine and her family for the death of their youngest daughter age 15 who was injured in a severe car crash the end of March and was put in a coma as a result with emergency brain surgery and other surgeries after being medivacted from their local hospital to a specialized children's hospital an hour drive from their home. I was occupied during the time she was in the hospital trying to support the mom online and praying for that little girl who had already been through so much ranging from being in an Eastern European orphanage till age 6.5 and then a brain and skull reconstructive surgery to repair damage caused by pressure of the brain on a misshappened skull that was not corrected in her birth country before she was a year old. That address label was easy because most of them are in my name. I ended up finding one sheet of labels in DH's name and the rest are in mine.
I will be back later to do my introduction for this month for those who haven't met me on here along with my goals and possibly responding to some of the questions posted in the first few days of this month.

 

[4Mickeys]

and I keep getting drawn to this one today when I have been looking for quotes - I think it is because at a time when barriers are being drawn e.g. in Australia our states have closed their borders. However, the only way out of this is for the world to come together if not physically at the moment in other ways. Even in our small way on our thread we build bridges of support for each other from all around the world

 

[4Mickeys]

To all of my friends on here expressing their grief (and really that is what we are all going through at the moment) - it is no wonder you are all feeling a variety of emotions right now - it is scary here in Australia too and I worry everyday that we are going to bounce and see more extreme numbers. But when I look at what is happening in the USA (a place I have visited and have happy memories of) and the level of grief you are facing it is completely expected. My thoughts are with you all and hope things improve soon. We have watched this awful thing move around each country and I supposed wondered if it could really get that bad in our own homes from afar but when it comes we are not prepared for such a devastating change so suddenly. I pray that each of us and our families come through this

I am also thinking of you @HappyGrape and @Flossbolna and keep an eye on the numbers in your parts of the world as well