I can say that life sure is different than it was last week and it changed rather quickly. Can be unsettling. Can be needed. Can be scary. Can be eye-opening. Can be sad. Can be happy. It really can be all.the.things all at once.
Adapting to a new “normal” at your household, it’s not easy with a lot of time to prepare. Maybe you have school aged children and are learning to be teachers, stay at home workers, full time caregivers, whatever it may be. We are sending you lots of love, patience and grace!
I don’t know about you, but I love to see the communities come together in light of what is going on. With all the negative, showing the love just soothes your soul, even if it is just for a short time during a hectic day. This is a time where we can reconnect in a new way rather than a task driven, busy world. Learn to be creative by rationing the endless amount of snacks the people are consuming daily (is it wrong to put a Supra ekey on the fridge or pantry door? Asking for a friend…).
I saw one mom with a post that I thought was brilliant – a different colored small mesh basket for each kid is on the counter each day. It contains their snacks for the day (pieces of fruit, crackers, whatever items it is that your kids enjoy) and they could pick when to eat them. When they saw that they only got 3-4 snacks in a day they didn’t eat them all in one sitting! I need to do this all the time in my house, we like to snack too much.
I had another friend that started a community library that she put in her front yard for kids to take a book when they walked by to borrow and bring back (you can add a book or two for others to borrow to). Another friend made a post stating that it is okay to be disappointed by canceled events and what is something that you are sad over due to the situation. Some of our friends were able to share that they were sad for their kids for missing certain things that were really important to them. Having that community is important in times like this.
I love seeing all the local people supporting their communities, after all, that is part of the reason we have communities, to be a part of something, to have a village, to not be alone. Did you see this? An Atlanta distillery making free hand sanitizer to help those in need? If not, read it here.
As a company that works in the community, with communities, with residents, with owners, we understand the importance that we have on helping each other and coming together in times of need. We not only manage homeowner associations, we help buyer and sellers buy and sell homes, tenants find homes and match landlords with tenants. We are relationship people and we know that coming together is the way to go!
There are some people asking how they can help their communities when a lot of people need it and will need it over the next several months. I’ve seen so many interesting, creative, adaptive and downright awesome posts over the last few days that I wanted to share.
- Buy a gift card from your favorite restaurant, nail salon, hair salon or any other kind of industry that will need to close temporarily that would rely on your patronage. (buy online)
- Order take out food or delivery services from a local restaurant. Most delivery services are offering free delivery. Tip well.
- Use your talents. These are the best! I love seeing these posts:
- Teachers – I have seen them posting technology tutorials for the digital learning platforms and offering assistance to parents. Posting virtual lessons, FAQ’s, updates and other topics.
- Librarians – doing virtual story time online
- Personal Trainers – bringing their best workouts to a home near you through your smartphone
- The local roller skating rink was giving Facebook Live Skating lessons
- Other moms/parents – sharing art ideas, recipe ideas, videos, setting up digital pen pals with their friend’s children in other areas of the US. So many creative ideas to help each other out.
- Take advantage of these things. Although there may be some extra screen time in play you can help by learning about new things in your community, businesses that you haven’t visited yet, and make sure to write it down so you can check them out on the flip side and become a raving fan!
- Community Groups – making posts about available babysitters and bringing together those people in need of their services
- Write notes to your neighbors and put them on their front door (I have even seen some posts of making signs and putting them up in their yards)
- Donate Blood. This one didn’t occur to me initially. However, the Red Cross relies on blood drives to get what they need for patients every day. When you shut these down, the people who need this are still in need, that doesn’t go away. They are finding creative ways to do this. Look it up.
- Donate to the Cherokee County Schools that are giving away free meals for Cherokee County Children
- Remember your local small businesses. Does your child play sports or other extracurricular activities? What local businesses have helped support those things? Try to help them in return so they can remain active businesses in our community for years to come.
- Be a good person! This one can be hard in times of uncertainty, it can get the best of us at times, even if we try really hard. But remember the people who are out there making sure to keep us okay – the doctors, nurses, EMT, and the entire healthcare field. Not to mention your grocery store clerks, pharmacists, truck drivers, etc that are not the bad guys and are just trying to help us. Don’t get mad at them that the store is sold out or there are lines.
Sending lots of love to our community, clients and friends/families. Keep the positive coming!
