You're a Person Who Can Do Hard Things

You're here. You've made it through to another day, showing yourself how strong you are and how much you're capable of. Your child has well. Let's all take a moment and honor both truths.

Place both feet on the floor, place a hand on your heart, and talk to that part of yourself that is getting you through, saying, "Here's something I've noticed about you. You're a person who can do hard things. We will keep getting through this. I love you."

Say "I love you" to yourself? YES. YES. YES.

Then say these words to your child, looking at her in the eyes, speaking slowly, showing her through your tone that you really mean it. Share that the two of you are in this together, honoring how hard it is and noticing how resilient you both are.

And if you really want to knock it out of the park... say these words to your partner. Our marriages all need so much generosity poured into them to survive the stress and depletion of this time. Some unexpected supportive words do WONDERS for any relationship - our relationship with ourselves, with our kids, and with our partners.

You are rockstar parents. You are warrior parents. You are superstar parents. Start by reminding yourself of your inner strength and from there spread that message to others who could use a little boost (who couldn't these days?).

Connect with the other people in your family, note that you are the people living through the coronavirus pandemic, you have a place in the history books, you are going to have some crazy stories to tell people years from now.

You're doing your best, making it through an insanely hard time. That YOU are good enough. Tell your kids as well. They need to hear it from you. Tell your partner. Your partner definitely needs to hear it from you.

After you share these words inside your family, ask, who else needs to hear them? Friends? Colleagues? Who else needs to hear, "You are a person who can do hard things, we will keep getting through this together?"

Tag some friends. Tag your partner. Heck, tag yourself. Write out some words of encouragement.

And thank you to all of my amazing friends who have been reminding me.