Are you caring for others?

How are you dealing with the mental health burdens of the pandemic?  Have you learned one of the superpowers of making yourself feel better?

We were given the opportunity to bring home the school hermit crabs for spring break.  There was initially a disagreement between my two kiddos, the younger one didn’t want them, and the older one very much did.

Now, I understand my younger kid’s perspective – when we had responsibility for them at Christmas vacation, their temperature needs meant we kept the house a whole lot warmer than we usually would, and none of us slept well.  She’s also not really interested in the additional responsibility. 

Now my older kiddo, she’s really taken to helping to be responsible with the school pets, including helping to feed the cats and dog on a regular basis, and she even volunteers to clean up the litter boxes and take the dog for a walk (including the clean up bags job).  She wanted the hermit crabs to come home, to the point where she even volunteered to do all of their twice daily care needs, a job that had been split 50/50 at Christmas.  And while some of these are small tasks, every other day one of those things includes cleaning every object out of the tank and washing them, which is a 20 minute task.  She piped up “I like taking care of hermies, it makes me feel good.  When I live on my own, maybe I could have hermit crabs.”  You got it, girl.  Taking care of things besides ourselves, whether they are people, domesticated animals, non-domesticated pets, plants, or the earth, makes us feel good. 

How do you care for others?  If you don’t have a pet, should you consider getting one?  Do you volunteer?  Do you care for the earth?  If you’re struggling right now, and don’t have the energy to take care of yourself, start by trying taking care of something or someone else.  Something snuggly and furry tends to have the biggest emotional pick-me-up effect, although it is the biggest long term commitment.

What can you do today to help your emotional health?