Back-to-School Tips for Widowed Moms

_{The first day of school looked different for us and likely the rest of the world this year. Izzy sat beside me tuning into virtual classrooms all morning long. I guided her along while Theo and our babysitter played outside, and tried my best to tackle my never ending to-do list during “snack time” and “recess”.}

_{It was messy. It was hard. It was far from what I would have envisioned her first day of Kindergarten to look like. But we made it work.}

_{Izzy finished her first day of virtual learning saying, “mommy, I love school!”}

_{And while her words warmed my heart, the narrative that played out in my mind was more like, “I can’t do this!”}

_{As a widow, any ounce of freedom from my children requires someone else stepping in. My husband, their father — the person who assumed half of the household, parenting, and financial responsibilities — is no longer around.}

_{I often feel like half of a person left with double the work!}

_{Whether it’s sneaking away to run errands; finding one hour to pay bills, fill out paperwork, manage various household items; to focus on getting moveTHRU up and running; to exercise; to just sit in silence for a few hours — I need someone else to watch the kids! So, I rely on family and friends to step in, or I hire help.}

_{But sometimes it feels like I’m gone a lot, and when this happens the mom guilt hits me hard.}

• _{Is getting in a workout in really necessary?}
• _{Is making time for myself to work, heal, go on a hike, read, and just be alone too much to ask when my kids need me too?}
• _{Am I being selfish?}
• _{I mean, I lost my husband, but they lost their dad. They don’t have anyone else! I am literally their world!}

_{The thoughts continue to circulate, feeding my anxiety and leaving me paralyzed, powerless, and then just really sad.}

_{When school finished yesterday, I literally sat at my desk frozen — the apprehension of the this uncertain, new reality taking over me. School was going to be my kids safe haven. School felt NORMAL. It was a place I could leave my kids — free of mom-guilt — where they could run around, play and learn, like NORMAL children with living fathers do. To have this one constant — another shred of normalcy taken away from us — just plain sucks.}

_{But it is what it is. So, what is a young widow and single-parent of two young children to do ?}

_{After some tears, an aggressive workout, and lots of venting, I’m realizing that navigating the school-year is going to be a lot like navigating my new normal after losing Ian — it’s going to require a lot of SURRENDER and GRACE.}

_{Now, I know I’m not the only widow or single-parent struggling to balance it all, so let’s break this down.}

_SURRENDER

_{I talked about surrender in my last post on dating as a widow — but, to recap — it’s the idea of letting go of preconceived ideas about how our life “should” be and instead, allowing each day to unfold. In terms of school, it’s recognizing that even though I have both kids enrolled in “in-person” learning, there will be times that they have to be at home (with me) learning from their computer — for reasons that are beyond my control (ie. a global pandemic!)}

_{Surrender helps us define what is within our control — and more importantly — what is not. There are certain events in life that we cannot change. They are what they are. And once we accept this fact, we are able to see what we can control to move forward.}

_{School might stay open, but it will likely close at some point. Either way, it’s out of my control! So I’m trying to shift my focus to what I can control:}

• _{My childcare needs}
• _{My teaching schedule}
• _{My work load}
• _{My “free” time for friends, significant others and myself}
• _{My mindset, expectations and how I prioritize my time}

_{This is where grace comes into play.}

_GRACE

_{Giving grace is being kind enough to ourselves to recognize that we can’t do it all. I repeat – WE CAN’T DO IT ALL! (I’m still repeating this because I struggle with this concept! )}

_{It’s acknowledging that we are going through a lot (whether you’ve lost someone or not because we are all struggling with something) AND giving ourselves permission to go through it in whatever way works for us. This means letting go of judgments, of expectations, of the “shoulds” in order to get it all done.}

_{For me, this meant realizing that I can’t pull-off a pre-launch for my moveTHRU course next week; I can’t teach more spin and barre classes outside of school hours; and that I can’t talk one-on-one to every person who reaches out to me on social media for advice. It’s not that I don’t want to — it’s just not possible given the constraints of my reality.}

_{Yet on the flip side, I also realize that if I don’t give myself the time I need to fill my cup — to do work that fulfills my purpose; to lead killer spin classes the set my soul on fire; to exercise in order to move through my emotions and feelings; and to find peace to heal — then I become angry, bitter and resentful about my world, and even worse…my kids.}

_{There is just one of me.}

_{There are two of them.}

_{We both have needs and desires that must be met.}

_{These are facts. I cannot change this.}

_{So I’m waving my flag in surrender and giving myself grace to focus on managing the variables that are within my control, in hopes to create the best cased scenario for everyone.}

_{I want DO it all and BE all, but I’m letting go — little by little — to create enough space to just think about all of these moving pieces and figure out which ones to prioritize, to let go of, and to pursue.}

_{And so the journey continues…}

_{For anyone reading this who is in a similar situation, I SEE YOU. I FEEL YOU. This is really effing hard! But you are doing great!}

_{Trust that whatever you are doing, whatever you are feeling is just right for YOU. There is no right or wrong way to do this! (I’ll take my own advice here too).}

_{And if you have any suggestions on how to mange it all without losing your mind, drop them in the comments below!}

_xx,

_Emily