I am gonna keep it really real today… I am SOOOOOO TIRED! I am tired of the disappointing news, I am tired of canceling events, I am tired of seeing the disappointment in Quinn’s face when we cancel dance camp, tired of watching her watch tv… tired of struggling over doing school work and then struggling with the overwhelm of my own work, tired of trying to filling a void with an Amazon purchase (yes I said it, my name is Rachael and I am a shopaholic).

All this is our “new normal” because we have been in this so long, but there is NOTHING about this that is even remotely feeling normal. Our work is constant… I keep trying to remind myself what we read early on from so many artivksaid to us early on… “we are not working from home, we are at home during a pandemic trying to work”. And it feels like nothing has changed… except maybe that we have forgotten or lost sight that although this is our new normal, it is not normal. I feel like the expectations are creeping back that we should all be okay since we have been practicing taking care of ourselves, have tools and resources, and settling into our home environment. I don’t know about you, but I am not feeling on my “A game”, and although I tell myself that has to be ok, I am unsure it is ok.

Here is a shock, I am missing HUGS from my sister….(I am not a hugger). You have a ton of resources, probably too many… too many articles, too many podcasts, blogs, emails from me, advice from friends. But add this one to the pile you may or may not get to, it’s a goody on hugs… If you are missing hugs, I adore this purchase.

I am grateful, that is for sure! Grateful I have my family and friends, grateful for our health, grateful for my job (hey I get write this email about how I feel, love it), grateful that I can keep it real with you all. Grateful that my child is resilient, and that this, like everything, is temporary. Gratitude is awesome… switches the script.

I am going to go eat some strawberries now. Have a great day friends. Thanks for letting me keep it real.

It is a week of appreciation. Nurse appreciation, teacher appreciation… It is also Mental Health Awareness month.

This has been a particularly reflective week for me (go figure…I know you are all shocked that I am in my head processing).

One particular quote that resonated with me…

• “We are all in this together, but we are not all in the same boat”

Everyone is having a different experience, some of us are with our family, some of us are alone, some are happy to have this time to reflect and be still, others are beyond busy in the healthcare space responding directly to the needs of our communities – some of us have heightened anxiety with the uncertainty, and some of us thrive in the eye of the storm – some of us are caring for those in our homes, while others are worrying that they can’t care for their loved ones. Whatever our situation is I genuinely believe we are all trying our best. That certainly doesn’t mean we are always at our best. The human condition of imperfection 😊.

I’d like to encourage each of us to have compassion for ourselves, and also have compassion, empathy, understanding for each other. Having empathy and awareness to our own struggles and the potential struggles of others give us the space to appreciate one another, rely on the trust we have built, build our own resilience, with the knowledge that kindness costs nothing.

I am appreciative to be part of a team with positive intention and a focus on caring for each other.

Here is an article from the HBP, What your coworkers need right now is compassion.

It takes a village… once super cliche… seems so spot on.