Quiet: Five Minute Friday

I am dropping in for a quick Five Minute Friday post with my positive, uplifting community of Christian writers. Each week we participate in a linkup where we spend five minutes writing in response to a common prompt. This week our prompt is: Quiet.

One of the best things to come out of our Covid “stay at home order” experience as a family is the daily Quiet Time that we implemented. After being sequestered inside for so many days together, we easily could’ve unraveled. Without individual space and peace we so easily found ourselves at odds with one another. Between the Zoom calls with students, cooking every single meal at home, and trying to wrangle a toddler in the midst of all this we found ourselves worn out and desiring a little time away from each other. And I know we weren’t the only ones. All across the world, family bonds were being tested and routines that had long kept things running smoothly were destroyed.

But, a week into the forced quarantine, my family began to observe daily Quiet Time.

For two hours every day each of us gets a chance to be alone. We can nap, watch a movie, write, exercise, or work on a personal project. This became a daily staple to our family that has carried on long past the days of being forced indoors. It became a healthy time for each of us to develop hobbies and interests as well as catch up on sleep that may be necessary.

In the beginning, I used the time for working on grad school work, but have since decided that time needs to be used as creative time for myself. Now, I like to use that time to blog or work on my bullet journal. Occassionally, I will read, but while in grad school I haven’t had a lot of desire to read for pleasure–however, I know that will come back once I finish my courses.

So, here I am in the UK–visiting family, but observing my daily Quiet Time. The windows are open, the birds are lively and awake. In the next room I hear the snores of my youngest daughter and down the hall the movements of my little gymnast working on stunts. I’m sitting on a bed littered with stationery that I acquired on the trip and I’m in my element with words, blogging, and warm cup of coffee on the table beside me.

I know it is such a basic thing, but Quiet Time has really given my family a chance to be a unit while also being individuals. It has provided relaxation and refreshing during a time in our world where those terms are hard to come by. Some days I survive on these quiet moments and I gather my wits and strength because I have two hours of self care daily.

The Ameri Brit Mom