Times are a Changin'. 4/16/20

The other day, I happened upon a charming photo. A middle aged man stood in

front of a picture window, singing to an elderly lady on the other side of

the glass. The caption read, ³Serenading My Mother in Quarantine.²

The Safer at Home Order has provoked great anxiety and fear in many people.

We are restricted to venturing out for essential purposes only. If we allow

ourselves to be caught in the flood of panic, we will soon be adrift in a

sea of negativity. Let us remember we have total control of our internal

narrative.

My oldest daughter laughingly shared with me something that she had written

in one of her college assignments on the pandemic. ³When you take Œpanic¹

out of the word Œpandemic¹ you are left with the word Œdem¹ which is Latin

for the word Œpeople¹.² As amusing as her phrasing is, she is right.

Focusing on people, on relationships, on serenading our family members

through windows, we can develop and maintain an internal narrative of

positivity. Sure, times are a changin¹ but in our homes and with our loved

ones we can remain emotionally safe. Let¹s use this opportunity to

communicate how much we appreciate the people in our lives. After all, it is

the relationships we have that can with stand the changing times.

Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW