One of my often taught lessons to my (step) kids is that “we’re all fighting our own fight.”  That’s usually used in reference to being judgmental. But right now, more than ever, we truly are all fighting our own fight.

These last five weeks have have been one of the roughest periods of my whole life. So many unknowns, misinformation / contradicting information, kids who are scared, homeschooling, hardly any alone time for a woman who works from home and grew up an only child, figuring out all of the new mandates, navigating the government’s rollout of funding, and well… quite frankly… and this is uncomfortable sharing but… I’m just downright scared.

I’m in the process of writing a stupidly long blog post about all of silver linings but for now I wanted to share just a few quickie things.

1. I’m still trucking along and fully running my beloved business! Please don’t let the lack of blogging make you think otherwise. Blogging has come to a near halt due to not having time to sit down at my computer for extended periods of time (I’m SO not good at getting big things done with distractions / interruptions). When I do start blogging again prepare yourself to be coming back multiple times a week for a smile.
2. WE ARE STILL BOOKING 2021 WEDDINGS!!! Friends, all of the postponements are filling up the 2021 calendar much earlier than usual. If you’re getting married in 2021, time to book now before we book your date. I’ve been sending change-of-date contracts like it’s my job lately. Oh wait, it is my job.
3. My Megan had her baby and she’s perfect. Her name is Josie Bee and I cannot wait to photograph her sweetness. I did drop one of my cameras off with Megan so she could take some big camera photos of our new sweet bee. It was so hard not to hug her when we dropped it off. It was a surreal experience. I dropped the camera on the ground, walked away, and she picked it up. Ughhhh I haaaate thissssss!!!!!
4. I started challenging myself about a week ago to take at least one big camera photo during quarantine every day. I only wish that I had started doing this at the beginning. After all, this is a life-altering and (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime event; we owe it to our kids and ourselves to make sure it’s documented well. These are “where were you when _____” moments that will be discussed for generations to come. I’ll be sharing some of those soon. I won’t lie, they’re pretty great.
5. I’m crying, that’s dumb. This quarantine is taking its toll, ammiright?! Maybe I shouldn’t be drinking wine while I write? Or maybe it’s genius?!  Oh wait, it’s 3pm, forget I said that.

My wish for all of you is patience, confidence, happiness, good health, and so much more. I encourage you all to take a drive all by yourself; hop on the highway, turn on music* that clears your mind and feel allllll the feels. I often tell my kids (not just in the midst of a pandemic) that if they want to cry, cry big! It feels good and releases all of those bad and sad feelings that we all subconsciously hold in. Releasing feels good, try it; you can thank me later. If you have kids hold them tighter and remind them that while the grown ups have been speaking more freely than ever before and talking about their big feelings and fears… that no matter what we will all figure it and will all come out stronger than ever before. I mean, I keep reminding myself that same thing!

I don’t really know how to end this blog post other than to say I’m with you. Whatever struggle you’re experiencing today, I hope you’re past it tomorrow.  And if you’re not, I hope that you have a plan for getting past it. We have to do everything we can to not let depression sneak in; so, get your butt out of bed and realize that we’re all counting on you!

Much love friends (I mean it),

~Bobbi Michelle Sheridan

*A few from my current rotating playlist:

Andrea Bocelli: Amazing Grace, Con the partirò  //  John Prine: Souvenirs, Fish & Whistle, Angel from Montgomery  //  Bob Dylan: Tangled up in Blue, To Ramona, She Belongs to Me, I’ll Remember You, You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, Went to See the Gypsy  //  The Band: Atlantic City, The Weight  //  The Lumineers: Sleep on the Floor, Ophelia, Cleopatra

Holy wow, this isn’t 10% of it! This list could go on and on and on and on and on. I’ll stop. Sheesh. Soon I’ll make a Spotify playlist and share it, I promise!