I’ve been on a wild roller coaster of emotions over the last week. One week ago, I was high. I was literally high…no, not like THAT!
I was hiking in the beautiful mountains on the eastern side of Tucson with my husband and children. The temperature was comfortable, the smells from the blooming flowers were amazing and the views were stupendous (see below).
But on the early-morning flight home the next day, my heart sank as my five-year-old became motion sick upon our bumpy landing in Newark. We returned to temperatures in the low 40s with 30+ mph wind gusts (hence the landing feeling like we were riding a bucking horse).
I went from vacation mode directly back to reality with all sorts of work deadlines looming, doctor appointments (planned and unplanned), household tasks to catch up on and no childcare available for the next four days.
Then the end of the week came, and it felt like the bottom dropped out. I was nauseated as I read story after story over the weekend about scientists who had lost funding for their research, graduate students who didn’t know how they were going to pay for their education, plus museums and libraries who were facing excruciating choices after losing grant money to name a few things.
Sunday morning my outlook improved as I watched the excitement of my children, the elder, who had played the role of the Easter bunny the night before helping me prep and hide eggs, and the younger, whose belief in the magic of the holiday still shone bright. But I took a nose dived again that afternoon as I furiously worked on projects with deadlines I couldn’t push back. I continued sinking through challenge after challenge throughout the next two days.
As I hit send on my last high priority writing assignment late Tuesday afternoon, I took a deep breath and extended myself grace.
I stopped beating myself up for taking time during the trip to simply be with my family and friends, rather than trying to get ahead with my work.
I reminded myself that many of the delays in completing my work were entirely out of my control.
I recognized that I was trying my hardest, and while it would never be perfect, it was enough to keep everyone fed and safe.
I pushed back deadlines where I could (including extending the registration for my LinkedIn Sprint for the STEM Community to today) and made sure to get sunshine on my skin and the dog out for a walk.
Surviving the Ride
If you’re struggling right now, I’m with you. Here’s some stress management tips for this Stress Awareness Month.
- It’s OK to have moments of happiness even when the world around you seems to be crumbling.
- Perfection is impossible and sometimes great isn’t achievable. Good needs to be good enough in those moments.
- Recognize what you can and can’t control. You can’t control what is happening in the federal government or climate change, but you can control whether you doom scroll for hours on social media or reach out to a friend instead.
Take a deep breath. Take care of yourself and those around you. Seek out beauty in your world.
STEM Community
I know the last few months have been extremely difficult. That’s why the LinkedIn Sprint I’m kicking off this week (April 25th to be exact) is for you. If you’re a member of the STEM community (meteorologists, engineers, scientists, STEM educators, science journalists and more), you’re invited to join me in finding beauty in the world through supporting one another. As I mentioned, the registration deadline has been extended to today (April 23rd). Here’s more information.
And for everyone reading this blog post, my May 2025 Sprint is for all Job Seekers (I just found time this morning to open registration).
