Giving SPACE and having GRACE in Quarantine

Let’s be honest; we are all struggling right now. In one way or another we are confused, uncertain, lonely, and just sad. We are adults dealing with all these emotions; can you image what our kids are going through? I will be honest and say the first two months of staying home wasn’t too bad.  The kids and I were spending more time together, doing crafts together, and just enjoying each other’s  company; but fast forward to the past couple of weeks and it has been a totally different story. The kids are arguing about everything and anything; they have just had enough of each other and I have had enough of playing referee between the two of them. When this happens we all go to our separate rooms and give each other space, take a breath and a break from each other and just regroup. Sometimes that’s all we need; space. One kid might go color and the other kids might go play with toys, and I might just browse social media for funny animal videos. We all deal with our emotions differently and that is ok. We do however always talk about what made us upset and how we can deal with those emotions next time they come up; because they will come up again and we need to teach our kids how to handle their emotions.

Grace; giving someone forgiveness even if they don’t deserve it. I have had to remind myself this so many times to give the kids grace; they might have done something they knew they shouldn’t have (minor things) but I choose to give them grace. I don’t have to give them grace, I could just put them in time out or take screen time away but they would be in time out all day long if I did. What I keep reminding my self is that we are in uncertain times and there is no rule book on how to parent while in quarantine (if there is please let me know where I can find it. lol). While I am still their parent my parenting style has changed since we’ve been staying at home together; I have learned to be more patient with them. Little Red is teaching himself how to make popcorn in the microwave. While this might seem like an easy task and it would take me no time at all to make, it might take him a little longer to make or he might burn the popcorn and that’s ok; I choose to give him grace after he burns the popcorn or spills it all over the floor. He is learning a new skill and that takes time to learn; if I did it for him he would always depend on me to make him popcorn and I don’t want to be making him popcorn for the rest of his life. We have all the time in the world right now, we aren’t rushing to get places and I am choosing to take advantage of not being on a schedule.

I hope this little post helps you in some way. Please know you are not struggling alone; reach out to friends or family that will understand your struggles and be supportive. If that isn’t an option please feel free to reach out to me. It truly does take a village to raise kids and everyone deserves to have help and support.