Social Distancing – Page 2

This Holiday Season, Don’t Be Afraid To Go Your Own Way

When most people think about Halloween, they think about carved pumpkins. Kids in costumes asking for candy. And, they probably think about almost everything spooky. I think about Chinese food. Now, I realize that may seem random. So I will explain. But first let me say, Holidays don’t always have to be what they’ve always been. This is something my mom taught us growing up. By doing so, whether she knew it or not, she created for us some incredible memories. And, it all began with Halloween. When I was a baby, my mom became a Christian. Not the go-to-church-every-Sunday [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-10-23T15:38:58+00:00October 29th, 2020|Categories: Change, Christmas, Creativity, Freedom, Habit Making, Hope, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Making Decisions, Social Distancing|Comments Off

This Election Season, Don’t Forget To Love

Last week, Tony and I traveled through the Midwest to see family. For most of our trip, the highways and turnpikes we drove down were lined with big red or white barns and beautiful cornfields. Then, when we headed off those long stretches of road, there were more farms. Only this time, their homes, front yards, and driveways were dotted or emblazoned with red, white and blue— Political signs. Big and small plastic rectangles, with the words TRUMP or BIDEN printed in all capitol letters, hung from windows or stuck out of patches of dying grass. As if reminding us [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-10-11T22:04:53+00:00October 12th, 2020|Categories: Hope, Rejection, Relationships, Self Care, Social Distancing|Comments Off

Five Things To Get For Your Fall Road Trip

Happy October, friends. We’ve finally reached the season for pumpkins, apple picking, taking hikes in the woods, and going on long drives in hopes of discovering something new. Though COVID has certainly effected our vacation plans this year, it doesn’t mean we can’t still escape our day to day lives. Even, if we’re only gone for a few hours. As I shared last week, for Tony and I, taking day trips have been huge in growing our marriage. Traveling has given us a shared perspective of our world and our lives. And in this social distancing time, you can be [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-10-06T15:46:19+00:00October 1st, 2020|Categories: Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Social Distancing, Staycation, Travel|Comments Off

On Mountaintop Tea Parties & Remembering What’s Most Important

Friends, I have one last travel story for this month. Hope you enjoyed this series, as much as I did. And, if you have any travel stories of your own you’d like to share—please do so in the comments section! One of my favorite travel memories, didn’t happen to me. In other words, what I am about to tell you is not an experience of my own. Rather, it is one I witnessed on the top of Cadillac Mountain, in Maine, just before sunrise. Now, I realize most people on their vacations rarely ever see the sunrise. But, as it [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-09-27T19:54:43+00:00September 28th, 2020|Categories: Acceptance, Balance, FOMO, Food, Relationships, Social Distancing, Staycation, Travel|Comments Off

When Pandemic Grief Hits You All Over Again

A few weeks ago, my sister texted me reminding me that as a family, that day, we were supposed to all be together, on vacation. Only, a few weeks before that, I had to cancel our reservations because the shelter in place orders for where we were to stay would still be in effect for our trip. Sure, we could stay in our hotel, but there would be no pool, no restaurant, and many of the attractions we were planning to visit would still be closed. You can’t tell four kiddos under five that the pool is closed. You can’t [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-06-24T19:44:22+00:00June 22nd, 2020|Categories: Acceptance, grief, Hope, Self Care, Social Distancing, Staycation, Travel|Comments Off

5 Tips to Planning The Perfect Day Trip

“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” ― Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now As with so many things Maya Angelou said, her words about [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-06-15T19:38:51+00:00June 18th, 2020|Categories: FOMO, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Social Distancing, Staycation, Travel|Comments Off

Three Screen-less Self Care Practices for the Pandemic Weary

Last week, for the first time in months, I went to see three people I love. There were birthdays and graduations to celebrate, so I dropped off gifts at each of their door steps. We kept our distance. Masks were worn. And—it was harder than I thought it would be. Where I expected my visits to be like little reunions, a sadness hung in the air. We couldn’t hug like we normally do. Almost everything we talked about related to how the virus has changed our lives. And being together—at a distance—was good, but strange. We kept our distance. Masks [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-05-27T12:57:24+00:00May 21st, 2020|Categories: Anxiety, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Practice, Routines, Self Care, Social Distancing|Comments Off

Are You Too Feeling Pandemic Weary?

Over the past few weeks, Tony and I have begun a new, unintentional ritual. Every morning, just as we sit down to pray before starting our day, I look at him. He looks at me. And we say, “It’s another day.” Then at least one of us (usually me), lets out a rather large sigh. Because it’s one more day of social distancing, one more day of shelter in place, and one more day of not knowing how long this will last. And all of this is getting terribly heavy to carry. The worrying about loved ones, the concern over [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-05-15T18:41:01+00:00May 18th, 2020|Categories: Habit Making, Mental Health, perseverance, Self Care, Social Distancing|Comments Off

Can We Even Celebrate At a Time Like This?

Last week, I got a text from my dad. When I went to open it, I discovered he had held his phone up to his answering machine and video taped the message his doctor had left that afternoon. Earlier that day, my dad had an MRI, and his doctor had called to give him the results: No further growth. At this time, the tumors in my dad’s brain aren’t showing any growth since his previous MRI. The treatment is working. And as a family, we can all take a deep breath. Soon after listening to his text, I called my [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-05-10T14:58:08+00:00May 11th, 2020|Categories: Fear, gratitude, grief, Hope, perseverance, Social Distancing|Comments Off

Six Ways to Handle Conflict With Your Spouse—During Quarantine

A few weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, one of us woke up to the other scrolling through their phone. Tony and I said good morning, asked each other how we slept, and then both of us got lost in our socials. For a while our conversation revolved around what we were seeing online. Then both of us put down our phones. We talked about what we wanted to do that day, and a few other things, before stumbling into THE CONVERSATION. No matter what stage of marriage you’re in, every couple has a conversation that needs to be had. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-04-29T23:35:58+00:00April 30th, 2020|Categories: Conflict, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Marriage, Relationships, Social Distancing|Comments Off

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