Tonight I am sitting here with my children as they watch a Christmas movie. Personally, I am so excited to have the enjoyment of the holidays in our house amidst another stay-at-home order in place. But, I also sit here, struggling to write something upbeat and from the heart.

Writing for my blog has been hard because I have felt more struggle and less positivity in my parenting arena lately. I have been writing. I’ve been writing a lot, actually. But not in the realm of non-fiction. My attention has been captured by novel fiction writing. But writing about parenting hasn’t been easy lately because I have been at a loss for how to handle the needs of our children, thus, lacking the ability to share our successes.

Truth is, I’ve been struggling a lot. It is hard working full time while helping our oldest learn from home. I have been quite thankful for daycare for the two younger kiddos, but the cost of it adds to our daily stresses. And our oldest, J, has been having a difficult time with learning and focusing, leaving us with a lot of school work and not a lot of time. There are many days we do his school work well into the evenings, my husband trading off tasks with me so I can work while watching the younger two.

The children have become restless as well. Spending much of this year stuck at home, they are struggling to find excitement in each passing day. And with the shorter days, this is even more difficult. We are running out of ways to keep them entertained, and our children are acting up with no way to control their frustrations.

We thought a good way to combat this would be a vacation for our holidays. However, this dream could only remain a dream, because traveling is off the books, and unsafe. Yet, bombarding them with presents that consist of more toys won’t suffice either.

While this is only a summary of events in our home, and far more complex than just a few paragraphs can encompass, it is our reality. And it’s the reality of many families. Trying to keep children engaged, on their best behavior, and healthy, is a big challenge. School from home and work from home is yet another big challenge. And none of us really know how to navigate this new world we are living in, nor do we know how much will remain the same when we can better treat COVID.

This is a challenge. Our new world is hard. Perhaps harder than it was before. But it isn’t worse, it’s just different, and learning how to navigate the change is our hurdle for this year.

I would like to wish you all the best as we become emerged in the depths of this holiday season. Remember you are not alone, even if at times it may feel like it. We are all trying to figure this out, and we can all relate to one another in one way or another. If you are feeling the blues from the last few months and in this holiday season, this is okay. Just know we will all make it through, together.