Sorry, Not Sorry – 5 New Habits I Won’t Apologize For

“Happy Spring Break” was the last thing I said face to face to my students. That was March 13, 2020 and in some twilight zone dimension, we are still on spring break.

The time we have spent at home has been a time of reflection and change. There are some habits I have laid down and some that I have picked up that have changed my life for good. Some of these new habits I would have never considered before March 13th. But I do not, and will not, apologize for the freedom that has come with each of them.

Some of the habits that I’m “sorry, not sorry” for include:

Going through the day with only ONE set alarm

Before quarantine, I had an alarm for everything! There was an alarm for waking up, actually 2 alarms for waking up – one to warn me and one to actually get out of bed. I also had an alarm for leaving the house, getting to school before the bell, calling my mom, going to lunch, leaving lunch, gymnastics practice for one daughter and track practice for the other, starting dinner, and even one for going to bed. Not to mention the timers I would set for myself when doing a task! My family joked about me being the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

Now, I have only one alarm on my phone and that is set for 2:15 PM. That time usually marks the end of a school day, but now it just lets me know that the sun is well past “noon”, and it is starting to descend for the day.

When we return to work and school, I will probably set another alarm to wake up – but that’s it – and I don’t apologize for it!

Not entertaining my kids 24/7

When the girls were young, I kept them entertained. I designated a make-up bag that I called my “bag of tricks” for when they got bored. Inside it, I stored little toys and trinkets to keep them busy whenever I took them out.

My approach to entertaining them changed when my youngest was about 4 and we were at the park. She was swinging from the monkey bars, having a great time, when she said, “Mommy, I’m bored”! My reaction to her then has pretty much been a mission statement for the past few months:

“It’s okay to be bored. Great things are created when we are bored. God created us when He got bored. I’m so happy you are bored, now you can create something wonderful.”

These days, I have completely given up on feeling the need to entertain my children. Don’t get me wrong, we still do fun things together. In fact, there is more time for bike rides, board games, making TicTocs as a family, organizing kitchen cabinets (yes, they wanted to do that), and so much more!

If one of the girls comes to me now and tells me she is bored, it’s not my problem at all. They know how I feel about boredom – it’s a good thing! They haven’t told me they were bored since the beginning of April – and I don’t apologize for it!

Growing out my eyebrows

I didn’t wax my eyebrows until I was in my early 20s. Recently, when the emphasized eyebrows became popular, I couldn’t do it. My eyebrows were thin because I kept them arched. I thought it wasn’t possible to have the naturally thicker eyebrows that I had as a teenager again.

Being in quarantine proved me wrong! I just needed to be home for 3 months and do nothing to my eyebrows! Now I have a thick, youthful, and a “fresh palate” eyebrow!

It felt liberating to not trim or groom my eyebrows – and I don’t apologize for it!

Letting someone do ALL the grocery shopping for me

There was a time in my life that I enjoyed being in the grocery store. I would wake up early on Saturday mornings with my coupon file-folder and I would go to the grocery store wandering the aisles for 3, sometimes 4, hours. I once considered it therapeutic. What in the world was I thinking?

Even though I had used delivery and grocery pick-up before the pandemic, I would have never allowed someone else to pick out my grapes and other produce and particulars. Now, I don’t care.

Having a complete grocery list waiting for me in my favorites is a lifesaver.

I didn’t realize how stressful grocery shopping was. I don’t think I could ever return to the mom that gets lost in the grocery store for hours on end.

I thank God for my personal grocery shoppers – and I don’t apologize for it!

Riding my bike like the Wicked Witch of the West

When I turned 40, I bought myself a bike. It was a pink and yellow Huffy Panama Jack-Limited Edition – 7-Speed Beach Cruiser (with a basket). I rode it maybe 5 or 6 times, and then she collected dust in the garage. But my bike has not rested since March 13th!

I have found that bicycling for exercise is way more exciting than walking, especially when you can race your track star daughter and beat her every time!

I probably look a little amusing to my neighbors as I pedal by in the morning with the speed of the Wicked Witch of the West and waving at them just as Forest Gump waved at Lieutenant Dan. But who cares?

I love riding my bike – and I don’t apologize for it!

Little POW-wow, Pearls of Wisdom

• All of us have changed since March. What are some habits that God has allowed you to stop or pick up so that you can “lay down in green pastures”?
• Write those things out, stick them on a post-it, and vow to never return to the old ways, even when things get back to a better sense of normalcy.

Tune My Heart…

I love Kidz Bop! (I teach music to children – don’t judge me!) Kidz Bop often helps me to decipher what songs are G-rated by listening for altered lyrics.

Anyway, I love Demi Lovato and I sang “Sorry Not Sorry” almost the entire time I typed this post. It wouldn’t be complete without it, but the Kidz Bop version of it ROCKS! Enjoy!