Today is Diwali, the celebration of light. I never thought I would have time to sit and write today. Usually it is busy with family, preparations, and celebrations. Today is quiet. Our family celebration is postponed due to quarantine, and illness (thankfully with negative covid tests).
2020 has been full of the unexpected. The words cohort, pandemic, social distancing, COVID, and quarantine, have inserted their way into not only our daily vocabulary, but our lives. In February of this year, as I left on maternity leave, I could not have imagined what was in store. As it stands, my little baby boy is a timestamp of a changed world. Since March, we have huddled close, prioritized health and made choices that previously didn't even enter our consciousness.
It has been weeks, if not months, since I have been thinking I ought to connect. Life doesn't look at all like what I had imagined as I headed out of the office. Instead of having my days full of baby activities and planning my return to work, I juggle infant needs with hosting a school pod of four kids. It is a lot of work, but if I didn't do it, I would give up socializing with my parents, which I am not willing to do. Our house has 10 people in it most weekdays. A busy, beautiful, messy place. All of it unexpected.
Hence why I haven't managed to update until now. I've had many ideas I thought to share. My kidlet and I have really been embracing hygge, working to make our home a sanctuary filled with cozy spaces and an invitation to be ourselves. I partnered with Brea again and focused on the importance of play, even for adults, in my latest contribution to the Heart + Bones Studio (sign up using spreadlove10 - $1 for 1 month). I breathed easier and had the song "The Dog Days Are Over" in my head last week, while I realized how despite not being overly interested in the US election, I was still quite impacted by the underlying tension and thankful to have some hope the work will be done to create a better future.
While many ideas may have been worth sharing in more depth, today I wanted to make the time to write. Diwali is about moving from darkness to light. I wanted you to know a few things... Even if I am not in touch, I think of you. Even if I don't have a return to work plan, I care and am here to help (even if for now that simply means connecting you with another therapist). Even though this is all unexpected, I know in my core we are all more resilient than we think, and able to adjust to more than we would ever like to find out.
May we adapt in ways that are helpful to us and move together towards the light.
With care,
Deepika