Somehow a whole year has flown past and it is PhotoBaby’s birthday once again. We are having our twelfth photography studio birthday in COVID-19 lock down! And what a strange birthday this is with our whole nation under house arrest. Last year I wrote about all the changes we had made to make our studio such a wonderful, unique experience. The year before I wrote about our photography journey from zero to ten, but this year our family business is on pause. And this feels somewhat surreal.
We are in limbo…
The past and the future both seem irrelevant right now. We are truly in the moment, living history. We are right in the middle of a drama that will be rolled out on the pages of many books, studied, dramatised and one day acted out in the bowels of Hollywood. And while our treasured first line workers are out fighting to keep us safe and save lives, we sit at home and wait.
Struggling
I’ve spoken to a number of friends and colleagues over the past couple of weeks, and it’s clear to see many of us are struggling to adjust. Everyday we need to fight a little battle in our head and get on top of our feelings and emotions. I’m getting better at it.
Here are my top tips:
- Stop watching the news! Limit yourself to 5 minutes a day just to catch up.
- Stop reading all the negative social media posts, you need to protect yourself from negativity.
- Exercise – release those endorphins.
- Ban negative thoughts. You are in charge of the narrative in your head so change it to something more positive. If you find this difficult to begin with, when you catch yourself thinking negatively, start listing things that you can feel grateful for. You will be amazed at how quickly this changes how you feel.
Make the Most of this Time
We owe it to those who are out there working so hard on our behalf to make the most of this time at home. Here we have precious, uninterrupted family time and at quite a cost. We may never get an opportunity like this again and we must not waste it. Ann Frank hid in an attic for 25 months, barely daring to make a sound and she managed to make the most of those days. In comparison we have so much comfort, with our netflix and social media and freedom to go outside. We are hermit kings!
Photography Studio Birthday Celebrations
So on that note we will get to celebrating our twelfth photography studio birthday in COVID-19 lock down. We’ll bake a cake, and then we’ll eat it. We’ll play some games, get out for a walk, cook something yummy, take some photos and then curl up together for a movie. Not a bad way to spend any day.
Stay safe, enjoy some cake and see you soon. x
