Worry Won't Help Us, But Preparation Will

Many of us have had a lot of changes during the past few weeks because of the coronavirus. I know my family and I have. Things are completely different than we expected them to be this month. Two of my kid’s birthdays are tomorrow (they aren’t twins—they are five years apart to the day), and as usual I’ve waited until the last minute to get their gifts, therefore they don’t have much at all. No one is delivering and we are supposed to stay out of stores. Still, I have no doubt that we will have a great time anyway.

This week has been a frenzy in my world, and I am sure in yours too. I’ve been busy helping my husband with decisions about closing his dental practice, how to pay the employees and for how long, preparing for the quarantine while not knowing how long it may last, changing a lot of plans which led to many more decisions to make, as well as continuing to care for my family in the normal everyday tasks.

One of the biggest decisions was whether or not to continuing construction on Scott’s building during this crisis. My son will be coming into the dental practice in May. Because we are required by mandate to be out of practice for almost a month, we decided to go full steam ahead hoping and praying we will be back to work soon to pay for it all! Scott and staff are out of the office and there is really no better time to do it.

In between helping wrap up things for him, I have been preparing for a three month quarantine just in case. We are putting our garden in the ground in two weeks, but won’t see the harvest from that garden until late June. We still have some of last year’s canned harvest, quite a lot of meat in the freezer, and fresh eggs daily from the chickens, but we needed to stock up on starches and high protein and calorie items. Come to find out, they are beginning to ration some of these things at some of the grocery and big box stores. You can read my blog 11 essentials for quarantine.

In any case, I’ve been extremely busy, feeling behind in the normal tasks of life, and lying awake at night concerned for our business, our employees, and the general uncertainty of things. I know to trust God and not worry about all these details, but the burden of making decisions that are impacting others is heavy on my heart. I have found that I am out of energy, which makes it difficult to create—and creating is the basis of my business. It’s actually all of our business.

Stacy Lyn Harris posing with her copy of Covey Rise magazine — Quarantine and social distancing have made me put a lot of aspects of my business on hold.

Although I am feeling behind in so many areas, I am looking forward to renewal over the next few weeks. I’m actually getting excited.

As I rested yesterday, I came up with my game plan for the next three weeks to regain my energy, excitement for life, and creativity. I want to share them with you and hope that you may see something in the list that may inspire you! I even made a Facebook Live video where I talked about some of these things that you can do to make it through quarantine, with yourself or with family!

1. Make a to-do list. This should include one for all the things I NEED to get done, and a separate list for all the things I WANT to get done. Choose at least one item off of both lists each day and make it my ambition to get both done.

2. Be in the moment. I want to spend time with my family and really be there. I practice this often, but my mind can drift to things I feel I need to get done. I’m going to continue practicing enjoying the moments.

3. Keep up with my exercise routine. I’m always energized from routine, especially exercising with my kids.

Stacy Lyn Harris drinking a cup of ice water with lemon, illustrating her point about health benefits of hydration — It’s a good idea to stay hydrated, especially if you’re trying to stay in good health!

4. Spend as much time outdoors as possible. Here in Alabama, I can go outside and get some fresh air and not have to worry about going against the social distancing guidelines. If you’re in the city, a short walk around the neighborhood won’t hurt anybody—in fact, many doctors and health experts recommend it.

5. Reach out to people. I make regular calls to people other than my immediate family each day to check on them and see if there’s anything I can do to help them.

6. Give myself a break if I need to take one. Not be in a rush at all during the next three weeks. Enjoy the quiet.