Cherish beautiful moments
How are you doing in this difficult time?
We hope you are healthy and trying to get something positive out of this whole situation. Right now it might be feeling like you are in a crisis. Well, to be honest it has been a hard two weeks for us as well. But we now can see the positive side of the situation. More about that later…
First…
For most of us our lives changed a lot in the last weeks. This is what happened to us. Recognizable?
The birthday wish…
On the 14th of March we were celebrating our daughters 8 year old birthday, just with the family. We played soccer in the park, the whole family, inclusive my 70 plus parents. We had fun. We talked about the terrible situation in other countries and hoped it did not spread more and soon would be over.
That evening, when I brought my daughter to bed she said: ‘Mom I loved all the presents but I actually did not want presents, you and daddy work so hard, I want more time with the four of us. That is my best present!’. We made a plan to do more together!
However, the next day in the Netherlands everything changed.
Our kids could not go to school anymore… we had to teach them full-time. While we both have full-time jobs. That started off as a bit of a challenge. We work when the kids are in bed, or we involve them in our massage online teachings. We have never been so aware of how precious time is.
Our massage school had to close. Going from fully booked classes, to having to close the doors of the massage school (and still have to pay all the running costs that we have as a school). So we decided to work as hard as we can to have the massage classes online asap.
And living in the most crowded part of the whole Netherlands (according to research), it is a difficult place to be 1,5 meters distance from others. We try, and everyone is trying their best.
Plus, we became so aware of our health. I suffer from chronic bronchitis so am very thankful to be able to get a massage every day (especially massaging around the ribs, to relieve tension around the longs) from Manel. We eat healthy, add daily sport (even at home) and massage to our schedule to stay fit and without stress.
Crazy times…
We are happy to be still be able to go outside to have some fresh air, but we take our social responsibility and go outside as less as possible, just with the kids to let them run – and we run ourselves – plus going to the supermarket – online delivery is sold out… I just placed an order yesterday and we are number 18516 in line!!!! I will get an email when they can deliver our order!
However…
Despite all the horrible times due to this terrible virus, there are also positive things going on…
Total strangers on the street are waiving to each other, smiling, putting their thumbs up to each other.
The other morning I was running with the kids and total strangers wished us good health. As in many places we were clapping from our windows and balconies for the heroes working in hospitals etc to keeping us safe… wow what a feeling that was!
We have a whatsapp group in our neighborhood with total strangers (we live in the city, so you don’t know all the people in the area) who help each other.
We cherish all the good moments together. We appreciate our health.
Love…
Today Manel and I are married for 2 years… we got a lot of congratulations of people, heart warming!
Best time ever…
And yesterday our kids told us that they loved these times, being every day with mom and dad. Our daughter said: ‘Wow, my birthday wish came out! It is so nice to be together all the time.’ And our 6 year old son told us: ‘These days are the best ever! Playing all day at home.’ So sweet to hear how they see this time.
Of course we are aware of the situation and everyone has different worries. We wish you well in these difficult times! Cherish the good moments!
Stay safe, healthy and happy! We are in this together!
Manel & Nicole
Massage School ITM Thai Hand Amsterdam
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