Categories
motivation Parenting Cartoons

Parental Love in a Pandemic

Cartoon of a dad reading a bedtime story to his son. The son says, "Read me the one about the dad who loved his son no matter what!"

Last night, my wife and I pondered how we would have handled this lock-down ten, fifteen, even twenty years ago. We were discussing this because of a news segment about the challenges of parenting when the entire family is quarantined. It can be very frustrating to love on your kids when they are underfoot all day, you are making sure they are doing their school work and you have your own work to do. It is overwhelming.

There will be times when you will be frustrated and you will feel like you are in the middle of a parental fail. It can be even more frustrating when the former coping mechanisms you had involved getting out of the house and doing something in a social setting. Today’s challenges require some new coping strategies. Some ways to cope include:

  • Be sure to set consistent bedtimes with your kids
    • Sure, this can be very difficult for teens. They need some autonomy, while you both need a break from each other. Find some ways to give both of you some space in the evenings.
    • Set aside time before or after the kids’ bedtimes to have time for yourself and for your spouse.
    • Make bedtime a part of your routine so there is some normalcy and control in this chaotic time.
  • Be realistic about what is possible to do during this time
    • Nobody can be a super-parent for long. Give yourself grace.
    • Work is simply different when it’s done remotely. Realize productivity is going to be different.
    • Your relationship with your children is more important than getting everything done on a task list.
  • Take some time to play with your kids
    • It will benefit parent and child
    • It will relieve some stress
    • This will be the memory makers that will outlive this pandemic
  • Call or connect with a friend who has kids your age. It will help you remember you are not alone in this.

You can make it through this, parents. It takes patience some humility and a willingness to learn and be flexible. I am rooting for you.

Cartoon of a dad reading a bedtime story to his son. The son says, "Read me the one about the dad who loved his son no matter what!"
Categories
baby children cartoons motivation

How Fast Are You Going?

Cartoon of a baby in a walker and a police officer

Because I work for an essential business, I continue to drive to work. One of the things I’ve noticed on my short commute to work is that the speeders have much more leeway as they careen about trucks and cars on the freeway. The traffic is somewhat lighter and those who love to speed have taken advantage of it.

It can’t be because they are late for an appointment. It probably isn’t because they were previously stuck in a traffic jam. It is a habit and they aren’t likely to change it unless the Highway Patrol pulls them over. It feels very strange to witness this when much of the world has been slowing down for the last month. Some people are just addicted to life in the fast lane.

How is your speed these days?

  • Do you feel like the world has slowed down for you?
  • Do you feel anxious because you relied on an adrenaline rush and this is a time of waiting?
  • Are you chomping at the bit and ready to get back to life in the fast lane?

If so, consider that this is a good time for preparation. This may be a good time for deep work, for goal setting or to learn a new skill. Things will get back to the fast lane. What does this slower, waiting pace enable you today?

Cartoon of a baby in a walker and a police officer
Categories
motivation

True Friends During Social Distancing

Cartoon of two girls. One says, "Only a true friends would let you know you have a duck on your head."

One benefit of this time of quarantine and social distancing is that it is just as easy to keep in touch with friends in other parts of the world as it is the ones that live close by. I have learned to use Skype and Zoom for personal conversations as well as for business. It’s given me a new sense of what technology can do to bring us all closer together.

True friends are not just the ones in our own backyard, though it is good to check in with the neighbors. True friends will have your back while they whisper to you that your shirt needs tucked in back there! They are the ones who will have the courage to tell you that you’re wrong but do it in a kind, respectful way.

We need our true friends more than ever during a crisis. It’s been good for me to reach out to them through texting, calling, and seeing their activity on social media. Yes, there have been some positives through this crisis. Let’s keep in touch with our friends and let them know when they are experiencing such faux pas as wearing a duck during the Zoom call.

Cartoon of two girls. One says, "Only a true friends would let you know you have a duck on your head."

Categories
Easter holiday

Easter 2020: A Resurrection Sunday Like No Other

Cartoon of a boy talking to the Easter Bunny. He says, "Do YOU count all your chickens before they hatch?"

I feel sorry for the Mall Easter Bunnies this year. They rarely get the respect a Mall Santa gets. And just when people began thinking about the holiday, all the malls were closed. Perhaps that’s why this cartoon rang true for me this year. Mr. Easter Bunny, don’t count all your eggs before they hatch!

It’s safe to say nearly all of us have had to change our plans this year.

  • Retail sales have had to pivot to online sales
  • Businesses have had to figure out if they were essential or not
  • Parents have been forced to realize how challenging homeschooling can be
  • Pets have had to deal with having no “me time”
  • Churches that weren’t streaming services online had to learn fast

My wife and I will be attending an online Easter service. For a couple that has served and worked at churches nearly every Sunday for over thirty years, this has been an adjustment. The method has changed, but the message has not.

  • It is a message of hope
  • It is a message of glorious light after a pitch-black midnight
  • It is message that resurrects the dead
  • It is a message that trumps Mall Bunnies and Santas

They said unto them, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.”

Luke 24: 5-6 (KJV)

Have a blessed Resurrection Sunday, everyone!

Cartoon of a boy talking to the Easter Bunny. He says, "Do YOU count all your chickens before they hatch?"
Categories
Christianity holiday

The Secret Ambition of Good Friday

Cartoon of boy reading to a girl.

This is one Good Friday where we have much time to contemplate the meaning of this day. When I think of this day, I think of this song by Michael W. Smith:

Secret Ambition by Michael W. Smith

Sure, the video was shot in the eighties and shows it. But this has been a powerful song to me over the years. I love the lyrics to this song:

Nobody knew His Secret ambition,
Nobody knew His claim to fame.

He broke the old rules steeped in tradition,
He tore the holy veil away.

Questioning those in powerful positions,
Running to those who called His name.

But nobody knew His secret ambition,
was to give His life away.

Secret Ambition Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Wayne Kirkpatrick

Good Friday is a reminder that though things may seem dark and hopeless, Easter Sunday is coming. The darkest moment is never the end of the story.

Have a blessed Easter weekend.