SO MANY WEBINARS, SO MANY ZOOMS! (AKA THE DAILY GRIND OF THE CORONAVIRUS ERA)*

Today I did a practice webinar with tomorrow's presenter. It's a great topic and a great presenter.

And while we are all working remotely and supporting individuals with Down syndrome and their families from afar, I am already a little tired of Brady-Bunch style zoom meetings (okay--maybe I am a little tired of it because I have done multiple 3-hour zoom marathons for strategic planning in the last week!)

So some advice for our Down Syndrome Community leaders today: 1) take care of yourself FIRST so you can continue to take care of others 2) it's okay to bring humanity into your new virtual meetings--just take a look at Jimmy Fallon with his children climbing all over him as he tries to host a show. We are ALL dealing with the same issues--whether it is your child, your cat or dog or simply the technology issues of "can you hear me now?" and finally 3) pick two or three things to do every day and try to do those two or three things really well. So it is okay to say "no" to a zoom meeting or webinar even if you are really interested in the topic. It's okay to say "no" to things beyond your 2-3 daily goals.

For instance, I have decided to NOT parent really well today (hence, why my son has already spent hours playing Spyro and Call of Duty.) Instead, I decided to focus on 1) connecting with other nonprofit development professionals to brainstorm how to be true leaders and innovators (yes, it was a zoom call) 2) following up with some low-hanging fruit emails (you know the ones, the ones that just require you to provide a quick answer or easy-to-find resource yet still require time and care; and 3) making dinner.

I don't know yet what I am making but I am dedicated to perusing my pantry and fridge and researching some new recipes to go out of my comfort zone (and carb-heavy comfort food zone) and make a delicious meal for my family. That's it.

Some days just doing those three things can feel overwhelming and other days I feel like I can take on the world. And then I remember my own first bit of advice: take care of yourself first so you can better nurture those around you.

*This post originally appeared April 15, 2020 here