Sharing My Thoughts.
PHEW! What just happened? To be honest, I have not taken a moment to really ponder on my emotions… until today. Things happened so fast that I don’t even remember when the beginning of this situation happened. One day we went from going about our daily routine, then the next day, we started to hear about social distancing and the next thing I know, our whole state was ordered into a lockdown. I think I speak for a lot of people around the world when I say that, we did not have time to process this. We had to go on overdrive… preparing to self quarantine, deal with school closures, prepare our business and companies to go on hold until we can put all this past us. And then BAM… Stay Home.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not in any way complaining as this situation is one that we are all dealing with collectively as a nation, and globally. If I have learned anything as an entrepenur and as a mother, it’s that focusing on a situation that is out of your control, especially when you know there is nothing you can do to change it, is a waste of time. Instead, I choose to focus on what I can control and that is my attitude and the way I choose to deal with the situation I’m in. BUT! That doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings about it. And today they hit me hard. I am someone who needs to keep moving, doing things, stay active. Sitting for a few min gets me restless. So instead of trying to avoid my feelings, I chose today to step back and disconnect from IG for the day and feel all the feels. I needed to just let myself digest this new temporary normal.
Yes, this whole thing SUCKS! For lack of better word. It sucks that people are dying, it sucks that it took away our freedom to go about our lives, it sucks that its robbing our kids from their daily education and it sucks that it robbed us of our normal every day life. It sucks that we now crave human contact and human interaction beyond our immediate families. It sucks that we can’t go to work. It just sucks!
Right? Now that we have established that, how about we take a deep breath. Okay, great. Now listen to me. Imagine if we had to deal with this without a roof over our head? Imagine if we had to deal with this without food in our pantries or fridges, electricity, running water, warmth, TV and Wifi to stay connected with the world? It would suck even more. So after feeling all the feels, I dusted myself and felt so much better getting THAT out of the way. Now, let me focus on all the things I am grateful for!
Let’s be real, How many times have you told yourself or in conversation mentioned to someone that “you just didn’t have the time”? I just don’t have the time to do ________. I just don’t have the time to do ___________ with my kids. I just haven’t had a chance to spend quality time with my husband or wife, girlfriend or boyfriend. I just don’t have the time to read a book, finish a movie, bake with my loved ones, play a board game, go for a walk, revamp my website… I just don’t have time to slow down and breath.
Life? Life will eventually get back to normal again and our busy hustle and bustle will come back. And when it comes back, I don’t want to look back at this time I had to do all I’ve been wanting to do but too busy to focus on because I was too stressed. Take this time to rest, re energize, find your passion, spend time with your kids and significant other. Live in the moment because, hopefully, we won’t have to deal with a situation like this any time soon again. Which means, you’ll never get this time back.
As for me, well… where do I begin? As a wife, I worry about my husband who is a physician and on the frontline of this. As a mom, my kids are driving me nuts at home, as a daughter, I worry about my parents, as an entrepreneur I am stressed out about my business and employees and as someone who needs consistency and a schedule in her life… not having that is driving me crazy. BUT whats the point of stressing out about what I can’t control? Instead, I am choosing to smile, and take it all one day at a time. I am choosing to take this time to rest, to reignite my creative mind and to brainstorm ideas and projects. How can I better your experience with our online shop. Playing board games with my kids, baking with them and helping with homework.
Because at the end of the day my friends, it’s all about perspective. How will you choose to remember this time in your life? Because it WILL pass. You will be talking about it with your kids and grandkids one day. What we are going through with the COVID-19 is going to be talked about and remembered forever. Its a time in our lives that will go down in history. Your kids and grandkids and generations to come will be talking about it, learning about it. I want to talk about it with my grandchildren and tell them that, we did our part in staying home and help those most vulnerable to this virus. I want to tell them stories of the small things we were able to do to help others. I want to tell them that I chose to stay calm and deal with the situation in the best way that I can. And that we all came out of it stronger than ever and more determined than ever.
I would love to hear form you, how are you keeping yourselves and your kiddos busy? Help us feel inspired!
Stay Safe And Healthy
17 comments
Elizabeth Rodriguez
Hello! I wanted to order the book, but I can’t find it so I wanted to know if is no longer available. Thank you so much.
Teena Gomez
I feel at peace knowing that I am not alone in the way I am feeling. We all can resonate with your feelings and they are valid. Grateful that we have our health and that of our families. And at a time like this that is all we need.
Rosie Gogue
Hello Farah,
I completely know the feeling. We are living in uncertain times right now. No one would’ve dared to dream our lives will be halted in this way.
I believe it is a time for reflection, rest, prayer and to embrace the most important things in life, our family. To draw closer to God and begin a spiritual journey, so that we can get through this.
Like you, I miss that human interaction with colleagues and students. I was just telling my professor that the other night during our virtual online class.
Yet, physically and mentally this “Stay at Home” has tested everyone single of us. Like you mentioned you choose to smile. We must see the rainbow 🌈 in this storm because this too shall come to pass.
Thank you to your husband and brother for being in the front lines of this pandemic, invisible to the world and had taken over life’s and thank you for sharing your testimony. Sending much love and hugs, blessings and prayers. 💞
Luz Adriana
Oh dear farah, I’m so happy to hear from you. I’ve got worry of not having to see your story for today. I send you the best prayers for all your family. I thank you for being who you are with all of us in instagram. I feel that we’re family even though we’re not. I wish I could stay positive everyday, but some days I’ve been with more stress than others. I’m a preschool teacher and here in California we’re not going back to school for the rest of the fiscal year and I don’t know how does that applies to losing my job. I’ve been more positive watching your stories. We’re worried as hell, but I’ll be looking forward to staying positive and healthy. Most importantly I will enjoy the time with my daughter celeste and son jimmy that are two beautiful teenagers. God is great in any way we look at it. And this quote I’ve been putting in my mind every night. “Tomorrow will be a better day” take care farah. Good night from California. ❤️🙏🏼
Courtney Blocker
Well said! You did exactly what you needed to do, which is the right thing. Put your family first. Take care of yourself and your loved ones, and just take some time to “do nothing”. Relax, be lazy for a little. You deserve it! You work really hard and are AWESOME at what you do! We understand. This is coming from someone who has been looking forward to your stories everyday lately. ;)
Naureen
Farah. I am so happy that you took the day off and away from social media. I was beginning to think you were an alien on this planet with doing so much and being so punctual with your posts even in Qurantine . Don’t get me wrong, loved all those mini challenges and but thought about how you were doing all this with the kids at home ALL THE TIME, with dealing with stuff at home, and keeping up with your work as an entrepreneur. But happy to know that you TOO are normal and yes you too need a break. Amazing. Hope you take more of this, we will be fine if you do. And yes, we WILL get through this. Thank you. You are such an inspiration <3
Ahlam
Hey Farah
Thank you truly for sharing ur thoughts and emotions with us. It’s ok. It’s ok that u feel the way i feel and that u had a bad day. The important thing is u came back around. I am a bank teller so i am still working but we are also on rotation Becuz they don’t need everyone there at once since we are drive up only right now.
Last week i was off and it was the hardest thing to deal with cuz i deal with severe anxiety and one thing that can really trigger it is when i fall out of my routine and feel like I’ve lost control like u were saying. On top of that i was trying to catch my kid up on her homeschooling which was is truly very exhausting.
Everyone is feeling some sort of something right now that’s how we are all truly connected in a way. It’s great that we are able to express our frustrations and fears and then come back stronger. I hope that u r well now and remain strong. We got this right. :)
Antonella
Thank you for all your posts and inspiration always but especially during This time. I liked when you said it WILL pass. I needed to hear this. Some days it feels like it will never be over. I’m a social person not being able to socialize and be out and about is difficult, but let’s make the best of it together. Thank you!!!
N
Hi Farah! Thank you for sharing this. I’m sorry you had a rough day today. I love your perspective. I love your ability to recognize your frustrations and then in the next breath, find ways to see the beauty in the situation. The things you’re grateful for, making use of this time with our loved ones and remembering just how blessed we are.
Each day you get on stories and lift us up with your daily challenges. I appreciate that so much by the way. I’m also glad you didn’t do one today, and instead focused on yourself and your family. We are going to have good days and bad days. Or even just bad moments in our day. I have two young children and being positive for their sake is so difficult. Some days I feel like I have it under control. I let my fears and stress brim under the surface, but at bay so I can get through the day with them. Play, cook, clean and care for them. These past two days have been tough, a throbbing head ache and body aches, most likely stress related. My husband is still working (7 days) and is in contact with people throughout his day. I pray he comes home safely and that he doesn’t catch anything. I agree, we haven’t had time to collect our thoughts, this all escalated so quickly.
I pray for you all, those working our front lines in health care, or stocking shelves so we have food to feed our families, collecting our trash so life can resume as normally as possible, and so many others in their fields who are helping the world go round. I pray those affected by the virus are healed and that this all becomes a distant memory for us very soon.
Elsa
Hello Farah,
You couldn’t of put it in better words, thank you. I believe we are all in the same situation, I had a breakdown just the other day. I was watching a movie, that lead to me having all these crazy thoughts. We have a grocery store and employ 30 employees and everyday is a challenge for them and us. I worry everyday for my husband and my son, they are working extra hours lately, and as much as they are being careful, we just don’t know. We personally and as owners are following guidelines, but its frightening. Its been stressful at work and at home, I find myself disinfecting constantly and washing my hands a lot. So I truly understand you and admire you. I wish you the very best and let’s all pray that these days will soon be over. Thank you, stay safe
Yvette
Hi Ms. Farah;
So many emotions, just when one thinks that we’re coping, something changes. To be able to harnes and explain these feelings can be difficult, frustrating and terrifying. Faith, hope, and love will get is through this. Inspite of all the chaos I am blessed to have my family, my home, food on the table and my job.
You see, I am an essential employee working within the Housing department in our County. Which provides me with daily moments of a reality that I don’t think my soul could handle should I had to face myself. And while this is our new normal, the message to stay positive is of utmost importance because life cannot and should not be taken lightly or for granted. I believe that there is a lesson in this chaos. For me, I’d like to think that it’s love, cherish, respect one another. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay blessed ♡♡♡
Stephanie
Very well said! What a whirlwind of emotions I have been feeling over the last couple of weeks. I wake up so encouraged one day, and then the next BAM your applying for unemployment. This is temporary, this will pass and we will come out the other side stronger!
I plan to use this time for more self care, start drawing again and do some small projects around the house. How lucky are we to have all kinds of support around us?
Glenda
Farah thank you for sharing this with us. Eventhough I have been doing my best to stay calm and find the positive in all this situation, some days are just hard, like you said we didnt have time to process all this at all and is a lot. I am greatful that we are in the comfort of our home but so sad for the people who are suffering. I pray to God everyday that this ends soon. Love you for always being so honest. Stay safe! 🙏🏻💖
Neda Kiani
I’ve been trying to keep everything as normal as possible for my family, but the thought of reality really scares me right now. At this point all I can do is pray, stay positive and help my daughter with her studies. I even created a daily routine for her where we either play tennis, basketball, swim, run, bike ride, or roller blade. She hasn’t been off of our property in 3 weeks, even though I’ve gone to the grocery store and my husband still goes to work bc his business is considered an essential business. At the beginning of this ordeal I worried about cancelled trips, but now I worry about health and day to day life. At the moment I’m trying to pour myself into keeping my daughter emotionally and psychically healthy and just pray for better days. ❣
Alma
Thank you so much for sharing this. I got teary eyed reading it because although I’ve managed to have mostly good days. I’ve also had “off” days. Today was one of them and I struggled to shake it off. I finally read something that said “be gentle with yourself”, and that’s exactly what I needed to do. Be gentle with myself. These emotions that I can’t describe will come unexpectedly and I need to be okay with them. I need to take it day by day and if necessary moment by moment.
Thank you for your vulnerability and thank you for your words of inspiration.
Everly
Thank you for sharing your experience and your ways. We’re all in this together and constantly praying for everyone. I worry about my brother in Italy, my mother who’s 87. My sisters and son who are still going into work. I’m grateful to work from home and still home school my daughter and my husband also works from home. We’re trying to find a balance that works. It’s hard for me to go out because I have underlying health issues. I stay home and feel bad when we run out of things so I try to make a list of things for my husband and son to grab at the grocery store. I’m just staying in faith and know this storm too shall pass. Love you Farah and thank you all for your unselfish love and dedication being at the frontlines. Huge hugs
Annie
As you mentioned in one of your paragraphs, imagine without a roof, food, electricity etc. We in Puerto Rico when thru that just two years ago when Hurricane María hit the island, in my town 2 months without electricity and here we are stronger than ever. We have been in mandatory lockdown for 3 weeks but everything is going to be fine🙌 We are together and as said in Sunday’s mass God is always with us but most important are we with him🙏🙌