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EMBRACING FAMILY
Except for the very few (if any) readers of this column who were alive during the Spanish flu of 1918, this month of May will be like no other May in our lives.
May conjures up many images: Mother’s Day, first Communions, confirmations, graduations, end-of-the-year performances, awards ceremonies, and the beginning of a long-awaited summer vacation!
This year, May is vastly different. People are wondering when their children will receive first Communion, confirmation and so forth. Graduates are wondering if their diplomas will be mailed or if they will have a drive-up or drive-thru ceremony.
Parents seem to be on either end of the spectrum regarding schooling at home. Some love it and are considering home schooling, while others have an immense newly discovered gratitude for their children’s teachers and schools. For these parents, re-opening the school simply cannot come soon enough! For many, tensions are high as parents wonder if their children will be well prepared for the next school year. Many parents are exhausted, and kids want to be back with their friends. Other parents are stressed about their work decreasing or stopping altogether and are concerned about buying groceries, paying rent and utilities, and other expenses.
During this unprecedented time, we can all do some soul-searching:
- What changes have occurred that we like and want to continue post-quarantine? Meals together? Board games? Family time? Praying as a family?
- What changes have occurred that we would opt to discontinue as soon as possible? Unemployment? Marital stress? Family bickering?
- How can we focus on the needs of those whose struggles far surpass our own? Donate to the Hawaii Food Bank, Catholic Charities Hawaii or the Kupuna Needs Project?
While we can’t control the quarantine or the reopening of businesses and schools, we can control some of the internal impacts these have on our marriages and families.
- Benefits: Make a list of the changes that you have enjoyed, or new skills you’ve gained and hang it up on your fridge or elsewhere in your home as a reminder to continue these things post-quarantine.
- Challenges: Make an action plan to address them. For example:
What can you do to make your marriage a priority? A walk on the beach? Turning off electronics at night and spending time together? Praying with each other?
Maybe consider a temporary job or even doing work for people locally who could use help. For example, we had a friend in the travel industry who decided to start delivering pizzas to help bring in some income. We know someone else who is doing “odds and ends” jobs for others. Another is helping an overwhelmed mom organize her house, so that at-home schooling is more efficient and effective. Yet another is helping teach another parent’s child because the parent needs to be working.
Mother’s Day has passed, and Father’s Day is approaching. When you look back at May 2020 years from now, what would you like to remember?
While it might not conjure up the nostalgic memories that most months of May do, hopefully it will conjure up new and life-giving memories that you, your spouse, and your family will treasure for a lifetime.
We’d love to hear from you, Hawaii Catholic Herald readers, about how your family is growing closer to God and each other during this pandemic. If you have questions you would like addressed in “Embracing Family,” please email them to Sarah and David at Success@EmbraceFamilyLearning.com, and we would be honored to lift you up in prayer and respond as well. If desired, you can remain anonymous.
