Our world changed in what seems to be in the blink of an eye. We are in an unprecedented time and dealing with a global pandemic as a mom, is not easy. Our day-to-day routines are no longer the same. How do you explain what is happening in the world to a four-year-old? How do you get a child to understand that they can no longer go to school because of a pandemic? How does one manage to work from home, home school a child, and run a household? These were the many questions that ran through my mind as our state started to shut down and I had no choice but to face the reality that our lives were no longer the same.
When life came to a standstill, I panicked. I was not sure how I was going to manage my “new life”. I am extremely grateful to be in a position where I run my own business and thankfully it has not been affected by the pandemic, however, I was left with so much uncertainty because not only do I have to stay on top of my own business, I immediately became a preschool teacher overnight. One could imagine the amount of stress that could add on to a person.
Just like many of us our lives have been completely altered and while this can be an enormous stressor for many, I forced myself to look at things from a positive perspective and learned how to find joy during life in quarantine.
Rather than worrying about how I was going to stay on top of everything, I managed to stop worrying about how to be a “perfect mom” and find ways to make our new life easier.
Let’s have a real talk moment. Before the pandemic, I would wake up before my son, make a hearty breakfast, and then get him ready for school. When I say hearty breakfast, I mean the works, like pancakes, eggs, and a fruit bowl. I mean, I would be a little over the top because I wanted him to have a filling breakfast. Fast forward today, somedays a full-on breakfast is not on my radar because there are a lot of things to get done for the day so a big bowl of Malt-O-Meal Berry Colossal Crunch® it is! If you have not tried this cereal… add this to your cart now, it is SO good.
One of my many ways of finding joy during quarantine is switching up my big breakfast routine. By doing this, I am saving time in the morning and allowing me time to get schoolwork done with my son. Plus less stress of the prepping food and the aftermath of cleaning up. It is overall just easier for me in the morning.
I am glad to have found a breakfast alternative like Malt-O-Meal cereal. Malt-O-Meal cereal has over 30 delicious varieties. They help moms like myself with high-quality, great-tasting, and of course, affordable cereal options. We love Berry Colossal Crunch®, it’s our favorite but they also have Frosted Mini Spooners®, Golden Puffs®, and Tootie Fruities®.
A few other ways that have helped me find joy during quarantine are:
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- Staying Active: Go for a walk in your neighborhood or like me, I like to play soccer in the backyard with my son. Any way of staying active will help.
- Staying Calm: Of course, easier said than done but I will say that once I found a way to accept the fact that this is our reality. I focused on ways to relax my mind by making time for myself and meditating and even doing yoga.
- Be Productive: Rather than focus on problems, find solutions that make YOU happy.
- Self-Care: Taking care of yourself is so important. Get into the habit of doing things that make you feel great. As moms, we tend to forget about ourselves and focus on our families but you do matter and you should not feel guilty about it. To the mom who is reading this, while wearing a relaxing skincare mask, prep a bowl of Malt-O-Meal cereal because cereal any time of day is okay. (Trust me!)
While my ways of finding joy during quarantine may seem simple, it takes time. Just know it’s okay to not be that perfect mom and it’s okay to go through the emotions of dealing with our said new normal. Malt-O-Meal wants to honor all of the hardworking moms across the country. They want to do something that gives these hard-working moms something to look forward to. Malt-O-Meal is giving away $30,000 worth of personalized gifts to moms (two $500 gifts each day for 30 days) plus Malt-O-Meal cereal for each winner’s pantry, via a social contest on the brand’s Facebook page, now through June 25. How amazing is that!
I want every mom to take advantage of this incredible giveaway because you deserve it. During this tough time, we have learned how to do it all and juggle many tasks that we may not be familiar with. While we might not feel like a wonder woman. In the eyes of our kids, we are their superheroes! Be sure to visit the Malt-O-Meal cereal site here to learn how to enter for a chance to win!
I want to hear from you. How have you found joy in life during quarantine?