Happy Monday peeps! So, I’ve been feeling the need to share some real life on here for a while, but kept pushing it off because I didn’t think anyone would want to read this.

(Let me preface the rest of the post by saying that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The first couple of paragraphs are a little less than positive, but I needed to get it out, and that’s part of the purpose of this whole blog for me. If you stick it out to the end, I promise, I’ll share some more happy thoughts. Life is life after all, so here we go…)

Quarantine has been a struggle for me. I know that I try to make this site all about the positive and the motivation and the pretty things, but I’ve had some rough days in quarantine, even though we here in Georgia are no where near the level of lock-down that other places are.

Not GOING to work, or to shop, or to anywhere as frequently as normal has been hard. When we do get out, we feel like we have to be extra aware of our surroundings and how close we get to people. And everyone’s on edge about getting too close to someone or touching a buggy or an item that another person may have thought about touching, and it’s just… it’s not the fun that it normally is.

IT’S BEEN A HARD COUPLE OF WEEKS. And I know I’m not alone in feeling this way.

I’ve learned that I am not cut out for working from home full-time because getting up and walking 10 steps to sit at the same desk in the same room for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week sucks… like, I hate to sound so negative, but it does. It’s awful. The first day we worked from home was great. Truly! I was thinking that this was going to be such a great couple of weeks to not have to rush around in the morning and to skip the fight with traffic while trying make it to work on time. Then, day two rolled around and I was beyond over it. Now it’s day 872… or at least that’s what it feels like 😀

I literally JUMP at the chance to take the trash to the dump now just so I can get out of the house for a little while.

Plus, I’m one of those people who can EASILY overthink things, and all this alone time can make you just doubt everything about yourself and really make you feel like you’re going insane. (Or maybe that’s just me.)

So, how am I attempting to combat this…

Well, until three or four weeks ago, I was still in my spring classes, so I was throwing myself into our marketing project and working on my operations management final. Thankfully, I had that to fill the “downtime.” And I ended the semester with A’s in both (PTL!)

So, now what?

Those of you who know me know that I am a planner. So, I thought, I’ll use my down time to try to organize and get some things planned out for the future… My personal budget is now an 83-line, color-coated excel spreadsheet and I have a tentative 2021 budget already in place. I’ve worked on exact floor plans for a house that I would like to someday build and I even have my furniture layout put together for it… (we may talk about that in another post soon 🙂 ) I have three different versions of my resume put together because they tell us at school that we should be updating it on at least a quarterly basis… and I’m sure I’ll find some similar projects to take on in the weeks to come…

I’ve also been binge watching TV shows… I watched the first season of The Witcher on Netflix, which I thought was really good. I caught up on season five of Outlander over the past two weeks. I’ve watched most of the episodes of Barefoot Contessa, Pioneer Woman and Hometown that are available on Xfinity. I started rewatching Charmed this weekend (the OG version, not that new mess that the CW is currently playing), and I’ve been catching a few other shows here and there whenever they pop up…

We’ve also been working in our yard A LOT, which some days is nice and therapeutic.

But even with all that, I’m still feeling like I’m on the #StruggleBus.

And I’m not sharing all this for someone to say “Oh poor Dylan” or anything like that. I’m sharing it because it’s easy for me to feel like I’m the only one who thinks this whole being stuck home stuff (even though it is happening for a legit reason) is rough, when I know I’m not. And maybe you feel the same way, and you don’t know how you’re going to hold on to your sanity (like me)…

BUT IT WILL BE OK, AND WE WILL SURVIVE. You’re not alone in your feelings. You’re not alone in your struggle. You’re not alone.

We got out of the house for a little while yesterday to go get a few groceries and some mulch, and one of our local banks had “Psalms 91” on their sign, so I looked it up when I got home, and Jesus knew I needed to see it…

[1] He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [2] I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” [3] Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. [4] He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. [5] You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, [6] nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. [7] A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. [8] You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. [9] If you make the Most High your dwelling– even the LORD, who is my refuge– [10] then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. [11] For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; [12] they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. [13] You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. [14] “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. [15] He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. [16] With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

– Psalms 91:1-16 (NIV)

Isn’t it amazing that even thousands of years after it was written, God’s word is still so relevant to our lives and the situations we face?!

So, let’s take heart, friends! These are some crazy times we’re facing, and we don’t know what the next few days, weeks, months will look like. The struggle is extra real right now, and that’s ok… because God is real, too and he’s got things under control. We’re going through this for some reason that’s a part of his plan, and it’s important for us to cling to that (especially if we hope to keep what little sanity we have left!)

I hope you have a great Monday wherever you are no matter what you’re facing! Keep on keeping peeps!

Have a great week!

Motivation