As we start off this new year, I can’t help but feel like just great, another year of Covid. Now I know this blog has generally been centered around beauty and business-related topics, but strangely enough, these things have greatly been impacted by this virus. To start off, I haven’t felt like writing, hence the first blog post in over a year. The world has been going through a lot lately the old way of living is just long gone. Like many of you, I now work from home full time resulting in getting ready less. I spend so much time navigating my days around school closures and homeschooling when kids need to quarantine. Then trying to stay on track health-wise has become as difficult as ever, both physically and mentally. Juggling all of the chores, spending time with family, and trying to keep the romance alive is all a bit trickier these days and I think it’s time we talk about it!
Beginning with the topic of beauty, aren’t our new facial accessories the most fashionable things you have ever seen? No? Yeah, I know. These things not only look terrible, they feel terrible. I haven’t experienced so much acne in my life. And with half of your face being covered, why even wear lipgloss or lipstick at all? It’s just going to be covered up and end up on the inside of your mask. My how I miss a great lipstick color to go with my outfit. I find myself wearing it around the house for no one other than myself, why let all these beautiful lippies go to waste? Talk about bad timing to get into the lip kit business! Sometimes it’s hard to even get ready knowing the only time you leave the house is to drive through the school drop-off line in the morning. Let’s face it, you could get away with pajamas most of these days.
I have been working from home now for the last two years. Every since the start of the pandemic, which just so happens to have been the same year that I decided to start my cosmetic line. What a comical fortune for me, not only learning to navigate running a new business but also learning how to sell cosmetics to a world that is no longer needing to use as much cosmetics. This has caused quite a bit of stress, no entrepreneur wants to become another statistic and fail at their business before they ever had a chance to show the world what they’re made of. Even though sales are undoubtedly lower, I have been determined to get my brand out there and learn to grow with the changes in the beauty industry. After all, it’s not just my brand that is taking the hit, every single business out there has been impacted by the restrictions that Covid has placed on the world.
Did anyone else out there learn that they were absolutely not meant to be a teacher? I am so grateful for every single teacher out there for the time and effort they put in every day to teach and look after our little ones. I need to start with this statement because I truly cannot imagine doing your job every day and still remaining sane for my family when I got home afterward. Now that I made it through that part, I must get to my complaints on the newfound challenges of navigating the school’s closures and quarantines. You should know that we have our son in private school, which proved to be a life-saving decision during the first year of Covid because when friends kids were homeschooling, our son remained in the classroom as much as possible. The few times we were distant learning were usually due to the class needing to quarantine for possible exposure. On days when we homeschooled, the class lasted all of 20-30 minutes in a zoom call and kids and parents were left to fend for themselves in regards to making it through the class assignments. This is where we learned Mom was not always the best teacher.
Let’s talk about health for a minute. A rather short conversation for the simple fact that this has been literally the hardest thing to navigate since this pandemic came into place. Not only are we trying to protect ourselves and our children from this known to be a deadly disease, but we are also trying to figure out how to stop binge eating when emotions are at an all-time high. Being overwhelmed with work while businesses go understaffed leads to stress and stress eating. Gyms are either closed or now require you to wear your mask while you exercise, and who wants to do that? So we try to figure out how to get any extra steps in, but there are only so many ones that can take around a little townhouse while working on a computer all day. Then there is the emotional stress from worrying about the well-being of your loved ones, keeping everyone well and well cared for and it all just gets to be a lot. I encourage you all to find someone you can talk to about these things. There are so many new resources available for mental health check-ins from telephone conversations, video chatting, or even texting a mental health professional that can help you learn to show yourself some grace during these times.
I just want you to know you are not alone in these situations. We are all emotionally exhausted and ready for the world to open up again, If you are experiencing heavy anxiety, depression, addiction, or just need to vent, please consider counseling. One good thing out of this covid situation is you no longer have to be seen in person to get the help you may need. Counselors and therapists are only a video chat away. Stay safe friends!
