|
This resonates so much. In a very similar boat myself. A near four year old and near two year old, and a partner that is not as outdoorsy as myself makes for incredibly distracting days (toddler politics are crazy; those who know, know). As soon as I end my work day, I get both babies outside because they need that intensive activity more than I need to sit on the couch and be consumed by depression and anxiety. Doesn't help that despite a 20% salary cut, my hours of operation have only increased as my employer furloughed a large chunk of our workforce. My ol lady works on the weekends, so even after working 50 semi-productive hours a week (7AM to 6PM most days, sometimes later) I don't get a break as she works twelves Friday through Sunday, often from early afternoon to early morning. The mental toll has been substantial, which I'm sure has led to some lasting effects on those I share a roof with. After talking with my mother about this, it seems this is a multigenerational thing -- people that lived through Civil Rights, Woman's Sufferage, JFK, Vietnam, Korea, The Cold War, etc are just as heavily impacted. No one is functioning well right now. At the end of the day, all we can do is keep trying the best we can, and hopefully we don't release total a-holes to the world when all this is said and done. Hopefully we don't become total a-holes ourselves. |