In light of hearing many people are struggling being confined with their “loved ones” and not being able to wrap my mind around growing further apart the more time you spend with someone you claim to love. I have compiled a few thoughts into a list of 8 statements which I’m sure some wonderful person who would rather spend their time living under a bridge and eating its passerby’s may say pssssssh.

Care for them as you would yourself
I’m not sure when it became so hard to care for yourself in the first place, however it would appear others are not only struggling with this but in caring for their families altogether. I get it, a lot of people are down this year and some of them have been this way before COVID was as big a problem as it is now. Please be mindful, claw yourself up and out of your hole and remember how you are feeling. If it is bad, imagine how the other members of your household feel they are going through the same thing we all are.

Love them when they are angry
If you happen to have family acting out in frustration or anger be patient. Assess the situation to see if you can do anything to de-escalate it, and if not, love them enough to ride out the storm.

Cheer them up when they are sad
This is something that I feel is running rampant. Even in my own household, sometimes you get down and you have a bad day. But what kind of monster do you live with if they get mad at you for making them smile or laugh? Even Oscar the Grouch has a sense of humor, however lovely and different it may be. I mean would you rather be laughing or crying? Realistically you should do both, that means you found something profoundly funny do more of it to help keep spirits high. Or at the least mitigate the sad emotions in the house.

Support them when they feel no one does
There has been a huge surge of content creation lately, meaning more people have something to say or that they want to share. Don’t discriminate or knock them down a peg, support whatever it is they’ve taken an interest in and help elevate their spirits and their creativity. No one likes to hear they suck at something, especially from someone they love.

Be there for them when no one else will
This one is tough for me because certain situations put those who I want to help in a position where I feel it is better for them to hit bottom before they can start to rise up again. But that is no substitute for un-answered messages or phone calls from the people who are your friends or relatives who might be too wrapped up in the news to care? Regardless of my personal thoughts here, be there, especially for your young ones who usually have this time to mingle with other young minds. Even us introverts like a little company from time to time.

Forgive them when they mess up
When tensions run high, on top of this already stressful year, please forgive your loved ones for the things they say or do. It’s not like you have been perfect, you know you have skeletons too. The next time you come home and find something wrong, take a moment to reflect on it, take a deep breath and see if you can help fix it. If either of you respond in anger remember statement #2.

Encourage them to do things they don’t think they can
I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard I can’t from my kids, but with a little support and encouragement they persevere and accomplish things they didn’t think they could. Take a moment to think how it feelt to do something you never thought you could? Light up your loved ones world by helping to show them, with enough practice and patience they can accomplish anything they set out to do.

Be grateful they are a part of your life
I can not stress the importance of this one, especially due to the current pandemic. Be grateful for having any relationship as lots of others have had theirs abruptly cut short. Love them with everything you have, show them the appreciation they have earned by being in your life & don’t ever let them forget how much they mean to you.

I hope that by reading this you can take at least one of these things and implement it into your relationship(s). I’m not sure whether or not it’s going to work or make a difference for you but it has changed the way I see and react to different situations in my household. Stay compassionate, understanding, forgiving, grateful, positive and sane. We’ll get through this together even if we’re apart.

Moving on to this week’s practice.

The minuscule s, oh how ssssssweet. Combining two of the Spencerian principles the right and left curves really gets your muscle memory going. I find it easy to execute and it’s a fun rocking motion almost like your a metronome helping to keep the beat for the musician. Now where it get’s difficult is whether or not to go above the x-height. I usually take my s’s up to where my minuscule r’s are and they are above the x-height. So you can see in the practice sesh this week some lines are mixed as I try to correct myself to stay with the book. If your a Spencerian buff please let me know which you prefer. Until next week…Happy Practicing!