It will get better | Atlanta Child Photographer

It’s always darkest before the down. It’ll get worse before it gets better. Nothing lasts forever. Tough times never last but tough people do. Fall seven times, stand up eight. And the sayings go on and on. We’ve all heard them. Sometimes, just when you think it can’t get any worse, it somehow does. How? Why? We all have our theories. I believe the universe/God/nature/some supernatural force is telling us to slow down and chill out. Because we humans are stubborn, it can’t be said in a nice way. Making people understand that they could/will lose someone or something of value to them may actually motivate them more than making a polite suggestion. It works for some people and other people, not so much.  Even though a pandemic and quarantine/isolation is not new it is a first for our lifetimes. 

For me, this social distancing hasn’t really been a big problem. I really don’t have an issue with staying at home. If there is no need for me to go out, then I don’t. I actually like being at home. Sure, I enjoy going out and enjoying nature or the company of my friends and family who live outside of my home, but I don’t have to go out. My husband doesn’t feel the same as I do, but he’s a whole other subject altogether. 

Even though it has been relatively smooth sailing over here (my son enjoys being indoors as well, plus he’s a 9th grader who I don’t have to assist with schoolwork) there have been a few bumps and bruises. For one, it is difficult to pay bills when you don’t have money coming in. I’m sure there are quite a few people feeling that one. Another thing is that my hard drive died on my computer. If my computer was still working, I could still possibly earn money by selling prints to my clients or providing images to stock agencies for them to sell for me or even process images from product shoots that I could participate in. Right now, all of that is on hold. I’m not too bummed because my data and hard drive are all backed up, I just can’t access it. As for how I am able to write my blog, my old iMac is still running. The only thing is that I don’t have the software I need to do the things that I need/want to do. At least I can post my blog.

Now to top it all off, I am soooooooo sore. We started having family fun night on the weekend. That’s where my husband, son and I get together and play very active sports with Xbox Kinect. It really is a lot of fun. The difficult part is getting our son to fully participate and let his guard down. I keep telling  him that it’s okay to have fun and it’s even okay to have fun with his parents. If he wants to keep it a secret, then fine. Anyway, we played some rather physical games and the next day I did my regular workout with one additional, strenuous exercise for my biceps, in my room. Now, combine the excessive use of my right arm playing XBox Kinect with my regular routine and additional arm workout and what that gives you? Very, very and I do mean very, sore arms, back and shoulders. My legs are a little sore but that’s nothing compared to how my arms feel. Just moving my arms behind my back to put my belt through the loops causes excruciating pain. Scratching my eyebrow even hurts. I didn’t work out today because I had a late start and had a virtual speed networking Zoom call to participate in but I’m not sure I could have. Don’t worry, I’ll be back at it tomorrow. 

In the grand scheme of things, those are two very minor things but they are impacting me on a personal level. Let me sum it all up and tell you what I’ve learned. I know people who have suffered from this virus and people whose loved ones are currently suffering with it. The ones I personally know have gotten better and the others with loved ones tell me that their loved ones are improving. There are others where the outcomes weren’t as favorable but at least there is hope. This lets me know that we all should keep hope alive. We also need to take time to appreciate not only what we have but more importantly who we have in our lives. Take time out to truly take in what/who you have been blessed with. It is certainly sad commentary that a virus has to make people sit down and reassess their lives and priorities. My husband even confessed to me that he found out some things about our son that he didn’t know because he didn’t take the time to really talk to him. The real challenge will be what people will do after all of this is over.

What I learned from my hard drive failing was that I need to pivot. There are things that I need to be working on for my business that I don’t really need my computer for. In fact, there were many days that my computer distracted me from the things I should have been doing. Why do I have a list of things to do on that list and have yet to actually complete any one of them? I just told you why. I plan to take this time to really focus on what needs to be done.  

The soreness I feel from playing is just like life. As you go through trials and tribulations, they don’t make you weak, they make you stronger. But before you can get stronger you will feel some pain in the process. I was able to have a really good time with my family (even the dog was there) while getting some additional exercise. My son even let his guard down a bit and laughed a few times. My extreme soreness is so worth it. So, we all just need to suck it up and hunker down. Love on your loved ones and appreciate the good in your lives and what the bad has taught you. Be safe, smart and kind during this pandemic and we all will get through it. 

“When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always get worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better.”– Malcolm S. Forbes