Part 3: Balance
Balance can mean many things. Balance when walking, moving, reaching, sitting, standing still. The balance between life and work, the balance of work versus safety during Covid19.
During this ongoing pandemic, it seems the world has been out of balance in so many ways – health-wise with a virus that the world has not seen in a century. The United States and other parts of the world, off-balance in equity and diversity. Certainly, our country is off balance politically. And mentally, many have been thrown off simply through the circumstances created by the pandemic. Many are off-balance fiscally. Many friends have had Covid19 and/or lost loved ones each day in the last several months. How do we balance the grief?
After the first of the year, one of our very fit studio instructors stayed at home because she was at higher risk due to being post-breast cancer, had a bike accident, fell, and broke her elbow. A studio client fell and broke her knee cap. My hubby Bob, a marathoner/triathlete and has been exercising every day during the pandemic, slipped on an oil slick in the garage, of all places, with a slight gash in his elbow, ended up requiring surgery as he had cut through to the bursa sac. All these “balance” accidents within a few days of each other. The world is indeed off-balance in so many ways, affecting us in more ways than we know. The mental challenges of managing life in the pandemic are deeper than realized.
Bob is out of his soft cast and sling and already back to full-range of motion. He and I continue to try to balance our lives work-wise and life-wise. From time to time, Zoom fatigue hits with all the meetings we have needed and wanted to attend (though I never tire of teaching instructor training online). The daily walks and exercise we do at home are enormous in managing our mental and physical needs and managing my diabetes.
Balance includes being part of giving back and helping. Suncoast is proud to be part of the Balanced Body Community Expansion Scholarship Program. I also have tried to balance our lives by working with the American Diabetes Association and was a Healthy Vision Ambassador for the ADA this year (I lost my eyesight due to diabetic retinopathy in 2003).
We were featured in a live interview with the American Diabetes Association on both Facebook and YouTube back in February with the Valentine’s theme of managing our lives as a couple with myself as a diabetic, and he as being a person married to a person with diabetes.
How are you managing to balance your life during this pandemic? How have you balanced your health and safety? Your work and your personal life? Your mental health?
