‘I just love the creativity’

I wrote awhile back on the importance of maintaining strong mental health in tough times, but it’s time to bring it up again.

The coronavirus pandemic has piled so much weight on our shoudlers as individuals in a larger society. Add to it the events we’ve seen in the last week or so and maybe it’s been worse for you at times.

I received a message a few days ago from Greenfield daycare provider Amanda Cannon telling me of a story idea she had. The story idea made me smile and I had to bite. Chloe Ohms, an 8-year-old who Cannon watches, made a house entirely of paper. I went and had a “walk through” of the house Monday and it was really impressive.

The house, which stands about 18 inches tall, includes a kitchen that is complete with pizza boxes and chairs, it has a living room and a bedroom. The house has a patio on the roof, which would be a nice touch if you want to sit outside on a windy day like Monday. Out front of the house there is a mailbox, but Chloe had a little trouble getting it to stand on its own, so she put out a package that waits for the mailman and keeps the mailbox standing. Let me assure you, the “cute factor” is real on this one.

“I kind of like building stuff,” Ohms told me. “I started building something one day and it kind of looked like a house, so I just kept going.”

I took the opportunity of being at Cannon’s house to ask her about how the daycare world has been since the pandemic began.

Cannon reports that from the time school dismissed in mid-March until the end of April, she served just one family.

“I was very financially [strained],” Cannon said.

Starting on Monday, Cannon has seven kids everyday, but typically she has 11 to 14 with a helper in June.

While guidance has been vague for daycare providers from the Iowa Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Cannon feels they kind of “fell through the cracks”, she has been checking each child’s temperature each day. She pays extra attention to hand hygiene and cleans more regularly.

“I’m glad I don’t have a lot of rules I have to follow but I do wish people would realize we’re still working and are essential workers suffering in some ways with lower income,” Cannon said.

I talked with Marcia Hendricks, CEO/Vice President of Adair County Health System, about two weeks ago. I questioned her on several things but one of the things she brought up was that people need to know that getting help for mental health issues is perfectly normal.

Information released by Senior Life Solutions recently is still applicable. Tips for people experiencing social isolation include finding or keeping a sense of purpose, working out and staying in physical shape, managing any medication you might have and keeping a routine, including sleep/wake cycles.

Senior Life Solutions can be reached at 743-7202. In a recent interview, Program Director Dianne Allsup said that while the program treats those 65 or older, they won’t turn anyone away, instead referring people on who don’t qualify to other programs.

There’s a correlation here to good mental health. In reflecting on Chloe’s house, Cannon said it’s important to use our imagination.

“I wouldn’t have thought about all this stuff. There’s a welcome mat, a trash can,” Cannon said. “I just love the creativity.”

The List

In these crazy times, I’ve also fallen into a simpler pace of life while working from home. Here are a few of my favorite ways to unwind, even in the midst of a busy day. Maybe it’ll help you as you process the way the world is today.

1. Listen to music. Today it was classic rock with John Fogerty, The Beach Boys, George Thorogood and more. Even though it’s from before my time, it’s good. A lot of times it’s Contemporary Christian, like Casting Crowns, MercyMe, or others. Still other times it’s Garth Brooks. Music always hits the spot.

2. Meat and fire. We grilled tonight and ate on the porch when I got back from the city council meeting and that really was amazing.

3. Call a good friend. I have lots of friends who I don’t keep up with well enough and I’ve had some really good conversations with a few of them recently who I haven’t talked to in a long time.

4. Talk it out, pray, or take a deep breath. These are all excellent ways to get things off your chest.

5. Enjoy nature. We went out to Lake Greenfield the other night and were kind of awestruck by the beauty of a couple of red-winged blackbirds that was flying around. It was a great reminder of how small we are in the grand scheme of things and how good we really do have it here.