It’s a good time to visualize a better future. Having so many restrictions in our lives during the coronavirus stay-at-home quarantine helps us appreciate what we can do when we’re able to again.
For one, I can’t WAIT to go back to the fitness center and swim again. It’s a small wish, but oh, how I’ve missed doing it.
We were going to take our son our our traditional family “senior trip,” the one where we let our high school senior child dream, plan, and do with us. We’d been dreaming and planning on a trip to Iceland for the past year. We were supposed to be there this week. It would be our last senior trip with our last child.
Ya. That isn’t happening. Rather than seeing waterfalls and Blue Lagoon geothermal mineral spa, we’re visiting the family room, bathroom and, for some new scenery, the kitchen sink.
We’re not letting that get us down (not too much). As my friend said, our dreams right now are not cancelled, just postponed.
You might have heard of Dream Boards. Some call them “Vision Boards” because they help us envision, or tangibly see what we want. They can help us visualize goals. It would be a great activity to do as a family while stuck at home. Help our children see what are the possibilities of a post-coronavirus life. A dream depends on hope; a hope is a lifeline to a brighter tomorrow. What do you miss and want to see yourself doing again in the near future?
Here are some pictures I could post on my board:
Swimming.
Hugging people, shaking hands, and being close again.
Dressing up to go to a nice event (I’ve forgotten how to put on mascara).
Travel. Anywhere.
Eating at a restaurant.
Going to a sporting event and cheering loudly with thousands of others, all crammed together with reckless abandon.
Going back to a classroom with a real, live teacher who is being paid a billion dollars.
Attending church.
Buying food and supplies and finding them well stocked on shelves.
But what do we do beyond just staring at those pictures of the physically fit person we want to be or the vacation we want to take?
Here’s a interview I did on the Matt Townsend show on BYU radio. After the first interview (about 1 hour) I follow on the topic of on Doing Not Dreaming. Matt and I talk about helping our children achieve their goals.
A Spoonful of Parenting 