The Gift of Lockdown: Stitches, Ticks & A Dislocated Risk

Without a doubt, the past few months in Sydney's lockdown have thrown us many unexpected challenges in work and life. For our family, it has felt like a rollercoaster ride - and for some reasons the ups and downs have felt extreme! In the past two weeks alone, we have removed 5 bush ticks from my boys (apparently the bush ticks are pretty amazing at Tag!), 6 stitches (Gio took a nasty spill on a family bike ride), and a dislocated wrist (thankfully Gabriella takes after her Mom and is sooo tough).?

As bad as that may sound, somehow our kids seem to bounce back faster than their parents. Gio had his stitches on a Sunday and instead of dwelling on it, he was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to tell his mates on his Monday morning Zoom session. Or, instead of fearing the removal of the tick from his scalp (like Dad was), Matteo could only focus on making sure we captured the moment to share with NaNa and Papa in America. It's amazing how kids have such a short memory when it comes to the bad, and, how they manage to hold on to the good. Somehow, hunting the good seems to get more and more difficult as we get older. There's a lot we can learn about resilience from our kids!

In all the chaos of lockdown, (home schooling young kids, managing intense periods of work, and being unable to see loved ones), it feels extra important to take our kids lead and to hunt down one or two things that went well every week! So here we go:

1) Stand Up Paddle Boarding: For Father's Day (this past weekend in Australia), my wife and kids got me a stand up paddle board and we had an absolute blast riding it and falling off together! Trying something new together took my mind off of everything else!

2) A Cosy Family Movie Night: Who needs a big couch, when you can all snuggle up on one couch cushion... truly a heart-warming moment for my wife and me!

In the spirit of R U OK Day this week, it's a timely reminder for us to pause, reflect and assess how we are really doing. Even though the lockdown highs may seem fewer and further between, it's more important than ever to follow the example of our children and to hunt down the good whenever we can. Also, this week is a great opportunity to reach out to your family, friends, and work teammates to check-in, listen and have a laugh together. You never know what a positive difference you can make in someone else's day!

#huntingthegood #resilience #RUOK