Podcast Episode 65: 5 Things We’ve Learned Over the Past Year

I don’t know about you, but my social media memories feed has been heavy recently with memories of last spring and the beginning of the pandemic. It’s mind blowing to think that we’ve past the 1 year anniversary and are still not back to pre-2020 just yet.

These past 12 months have tested so many of us in so many ways, I think I lost count at #5,627.

However, through all the ups and downs, I think I have learned a lot.

A lot about the rules in our house,

how my kids get along (or don’t),

what I really need for myself outside of my family,

and life hacks I was fighting simply out of stubbornness.

So without further ado, here is the

No Guilt Mom Top 5 Things We’ve Learned Over the Past Year:

1. Screentime doesn’t matter.

Yes, there is a thing such as too much screen time.

But there is also a thing called SURVIVAL.

I need my sanity.

And my kids need social interaction.

That means I’m not going to care so much about whether or not they are online for hours at a time as long as we are each getting what we need.

These are different times, and I’m throwing the old rules out the window!

2. More together time can help them learn to problem solve.

I know, I know, this seems almost counterintuitive. Over the past year my kids have been locked up at home together more than ever before. And yes, that has resulted in fighting. But you know what else it resulted in? Them figuring out how to get through those fights and disagreements more on their own. Adn how did that happen? I just stopped getting in the middle to referee. As long as no one was getting physically hurt, they could yell all they wanted and cry out for me to come to the rescue, but I let them know that they could figure it out on their own. And guess what…most of the time…they did!

READ: Is it Normal for Siblings to Fight all the Time?

3. Introverts (like JoAnn) actually missed other people!

This one just makes me (Brie) laugh out loud!

How many of you have a friend who is a total introvert and they were so excited about the quarantine? At the beginning of the quarantine, JoAnn and I would joke about how I was struggling with not seeing people or being able to go out places (because I am a pretty big extrovert), but JoAnn was more than happy to be hanging out at home and chilling quietly.

But as the months rolled on and on, JoAnn found herself actually missing seeing her friends, running out to the coffee shop, and traveling. She will tell you that the past year has given her a whole new appreciation for her relationships and seeing her friends, family, and even meeting new people…like at the coffee shop!

4. It gets so much easier when you get help.

This one is something that we all know. Logically that is. But that doesn’t mean that many of us had to live this one to really see how true it was.

Who started out the past year cooking for everyone in the family (and that meant 3 meals a day since everyone was sitting at home now), or

cleaning the whole house, or

trying to work remotely, while also helping the kids with their online schooling?

There should be quite a few hands going up out there because I know many of us were doing all of this….on our own! And why? Why did we not get some help?

The best thing that came out of the quarantine in our house was everyone starting to cook in my house. After about a month of my cooking all the meals in the house, I realized this was not something that I could- or should- continue to do. There were other people in the house that were fully capable of helping- they just needed to know what was needed.

So we started asking the kids to make their own lunches. Then it progressed into everyone taking on a night of cooking dinner. Now I’m not going to lie, some nights that my kids had dinner duty we ate canned soup and sandwiches, but they still did it, which meant I had a break. A much needed break!

5. I don’t have to kill myself running to the grocery store every week.

This one was all me! I can’t even tell you why I used to fight it so much. But I used to run out to multiple grocery stores every weekend. It would STRESS.ME.OUT! But for some reason, I didn’t think I could do anything else.

Then, about half way through the pandemic, I hit a wall and realized that it was too much. So I finally broke down and ordered my groceries for pick up. And oh my goodness was that a game changer!

So tell us- were any of our lessons things you learned over the past year? Did you have any “ah-ha” moments that we didn’t? Leave us a comment below and tell us about it!

READ: 3 facts that made me less guilty about time alone as a mom

Resources We Shared:

Eat At Home Meal Plan

Download the transcripts HERE

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