The Doldrums of March and the Gift Ahead
Everyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of the month of March. The weather is up and down. Sunny one day, and snowing the next. The festivities of the holidays have long been over. And if you’re in the working world, you’re deep in the throes of work, without a pause in sight (unless you’re a lucky one who spring breaks).
This year, March is starting to feel a little more daunting than usual. We’ve been living under pandemic conditions for a year now, and while a light is starting to peek through at the end of the tunnel, for some, it feels like we’re running in place. And by some here, I’m raising my own hand.
It’s hard to tell where we are vs. what comes next. New normal or return normal? What, dare I ask, is normal at this point? There is a level of anxiety that comes with our pending re-emergence into the social world, and of course, there is no clear timeline on when this re-emergence may happen. Still, we long for it, because living in the unknown is exhausting.
With the arrival of March, we’ve faced the fact that we’ve been living a year of stress with nothing to truly alleviate it. Families, friends, and significant others remained separated by border restrictions, praying with each passing day, to wake up to the news of travel bans being lifted. A year of hoping and a year of heartache. If this isn’t your experience, please be grateful.
Still, the days pass. They pass quickly and the ticking of the clock highlights that ever present fact of life, that it goes on. Tomorrow the sun will rise and set, but in these times, where conditions change quickly and freedoms are restricted, some days feel more like a threat than a treat. It’s been a year of sickness and fear, coupled with burnout and the practice of “living at work”. Life as it is now is not sustainable.
And yet, we power on, knowing that one day, our lives will resume and joy will begin to trickle back into the world. We’ll be reunited with our special people and we’ll revisit places that hold special memories; we’ll even make new discoveries taking us to places beyond our current imaginations.
When the time comes and the world reopens, self-care and self-healing should be prioritized. Prioritize yourself, your loved one, and the things that bring warmth to your soul.
Life after Covid will be a gift, and now, we truly understand the value.
