"I won't complain": Quarantine Life with balance

Deshae O’Kelley

Guest writer

When the alert went out in the state of Indiana that schools and daycares were closing due to this pandemic, I was in total shock. I did not KNOW how I would be able to balance work; e-learning, cooking, cleaning, entertaining my children, being a wife, and the list goes on. My husband is a firefighter and has to be at work, sometimes several days at a time.

I had to take a step back to gather myself mentally of what this quarantine all entails. I naturally knew I had to be strong and balance everything but my spiritual side has been what has kept me. The truth is that I needed, or should I say we needed, meaning my family needed this time of isolation to regather our priorities in this life. I know for myself, I have prayed for certain things concerning my work life, children, and my home.

After all, taking care of 6 children and working full time is very exhausting.

Starting my day in quarantine on a regular day is beginning off with prayer, praise, and a scripture. This helps set the tone for my day. I’m not going to lie this sometimes this isn’t the 1st thing I can do when you have two toddlers waking up before you. I find that those days are most difficult when I do not get to do my daily communion with the Lord. When I have days like that I immediately stop and think to myself; “Did you start your day off with prayer, praise, and scripture?”. Next, I prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner because I know that I have to log on to work during the day. I thank God that I have two older children, one who is a teenager, and the other a preteen to help me with other things around the house.

I mostly make sure that the atmosphere is filled with worship and praise throughout the day by putting on our favorite gospel songs. At the end of the day, I sit back and chat with my children to see what’s on their hearts and minds. We also make time to get into our word and stay on top of the current events. I don’t have a chart or daily routine that we go by but I just go with the flow of the day. I try to make time for myself but that’s not always successful for me. What I love the most is being able to spend time with my children; this was one of my prayers and God made it happen for me.

I had a pretty frustrating day a few days ago. The children were running around being loud and wouldn’t let me rest. I said to myself; “Why do they have to be so loud?”. I immediately thought about the young lady who lost her whole family on a boating trip a few years back and how I remember her saying how she’s will miss the little footsteps of her children running around the home. I believe that was the Holy Ghost reminding me to be thankful!

All in all, I’m taking advantage of this time with my children and family; after all, I prayed to spend more time at home with my children and to be able to work from home. God answered my prayer, He may not do it the way I feel it should be done but He does it in a way to remind you that He is God and is in control of all things. I know His way is the best way, so I won’t complain!