When I decided to write this blog post (about 20 seconds ago) I wasn’t really sure if I was “qualified” to do it. I am not a professional in any capacity that can speak to Covid-19 and anything to do with it. Then I realized that we are seeing allllllllll the things about it. What to do. What not to do. And everything in between.

Just yesterday in Manitoba they announced that all non-essential businesses have to close from April 1 – 14. Whoa. That hit…hard. As a stylist, about 2 weeks ago I stopped taking clients. Rescheduled any that needed to be and didn’t make any new appointments. That was a choice I made to protect myself, my family and my clients. As well as my social responsibility to #flattenthecurve. So while I had self proclaimed that {the first two weeks} would be productive, accomplished and successful despite the uncertainty, fear & judgement surrounding us all. Being told that we were now adding two weeks to this isolation/closure was a hard pill to swallow. For many reasons – the fear of the pandemic, the financial burden this would put on my business and our family, the feeling of being stuck at home…among many others.

At the start of this year I had began to write a post about how 2020 was going to be.my.fucken.year. I didn’t finish it, or publish it obviously, and I can’t pin point exactly why – other than 2020 didn’t exactly start as I planned it to. So what I was gearing up to share with the world (or my mom, she might be the only one who reads these) didn’t feel real and genuine. Then all of a sudden its March and holy shit.

So I decided that I was going to just share how I am navigating my way through this really weird time.

Declared I would take this time to start (&finish) some education. I have less of a timeline to follow now so I could sit a few extra minutes in the morning with my coffee and dive in. So, the first week, I didn’t. I kinda just sat with my morning coffee staring out the window deciding if my next cup would have milk or Baileys. (I stuck to milk… 😉 except on Sunday) The cool thing was once I got over that hump of creating a new habit for myself I have done a lot of learning. I enrolled in new courses. I finished some I had started and never finished. And I dived deep into some that I had been neglecting for months.

    I was obviously going to have to do some learning with my five year old also. He was unable to go to school during this time but still needed to learn and be stimulated. This has been an interesting ride. We haven’t had any blow outs and sometimes its easier than others to get it done. But thanks to his amazing teacher and so many great resources online we have managed to make this fun. Fingers crossed he isn’t totally brain mushed when it is time to go back.

    I have been puttering away at cleaning out some closets, cleaning out some corners and rearranging and organizing. I have baked and tried new recipes and in general ate way more than I normally do or should. Treating every day like Fat Friday…

    I have picked up the phone and actually *gasp* called friends. I have read books (currently at 6 as I write this). I have showered {almost} every day and gotten real clothes on just to feel somewhat normal. When I feel like I am “stuck at home” I try to change the narrative in my mind and say “I am safe at home. And helping with the bigger picture. And helping keep other people safe, too.” I have had time to try new things for my business and get some tasks accomplished that I have been putting off.

    All of this and spending some extra time with my family. Extra cuddles, extra hugs, extra conversations. I have also drank extra wine at times and had happy hour at umm, well, noon hour 😛 Isolation rules are not real life rules, just to be clear.

    What I have tried to NOT DO – judge other peoples actions on Facebook. I can’t control what they are doing, or not doing. Never, but especially now, is not the time to be a keyboard warrior, passive aggressively attacking other peoples action. Shut that shit down.

    I have tried to not let my brain space go somewhere sad and dark. There is A LOT of information, every single moment of every single day, about what is happening and the seriousness of it all. There is information about what to expect and that is changing by the minute. I CAN’T GO THERE. It is scary for sure, each of us has our own reasons why this scares us. That is ok. We are allowed to have our own feelings about it and what it means to our life. My life isn’t yours, yours isn’t mine. Let us try to get through this together. Stand united. Be Canadian, eh!

    So basically, the long and short of it – my checklist isn’t much of one. I am just trying to “survive” like the rest of ya’ll. Each day is a new day (although all much the same ha!) and some are harder than others. We will look back on this someday and I am hoping to be able to remember it with fondness even amidst all the craziness. And then hopefully never have to see it in my lifetime again!