Why is the Month of April So Difficult?
Everywhere I look lately people are frustrated, sad, or depressed. Coworkers, colleagues, family, and friends, they all need a pick me up…
Everywhere I look lately people are frustrated, sad, or depressed. Coworkers, colleagues, family, and friends, they all need a pick me up. Fast. I’m not alone in this regard either.
Family
My wife’s grandmother, the great grandmother of my children, is lying in a hospice bed today waiting for her time to leave us. She is 87 years old, fell, hit her head, and is now severely brain damaged and unable to control most of her body movements. She can barely speak a word and is unable to eat. Now at home, surrounded her two adult daughters, she won’t be with us much longer.
My kids are having a hard time coming to terms with her slow passing. If there’s anything worse than a loved one dying, it’s a loved one dying over the course of weeks. As an adult, I know I’ll keep going and my kids will move past their grief eventually and return to a normal childhood, but without their favorite great grandma.
Work
My colleagues at work have been under a lot of stress recently. Our companies are in the process of merging and so there are a lot of toes stepped on and teams torn apart. One particular team, Product, is naturally worried about their jobs. If the multiple products are merged into one product, then why would we need three product teams? At least, that’s what I imagine everyone in Product asking themselves. Even my own team is worried.
We keep losing team members to other positions, but recently gained another. Three new team members in six weeks has made everyone a little shaky. T’s that are normally crossed are not and I’s that are usually dotted are missed. I built our support team from the ground up, litterally, so I know we can start over. It’s frustrating, but I know we can get through it together. We always have.
Friends
My friends, who at this point are either writers for Medium or online friends in communities, complain of bombing articles, income inequality, and sleepless nights.
No one seems to be surviving this April unscathed.
Seasons
So, how can all these situations and circumstances be happening at the same time across different countries, families, and lifestyles?
My personal belief is we have entered into a period of change. I know I have. With forming a new website, building a writing community, and perusing my passions, I have never felt so on the verge. As if I’m standing on a sinking ship. If I struggle to keep the boat afloat, it will sink regardless and I’ll have to swim for shore. If I do nothing, the boat sinks and I have to swim for shore, but I may not be so tired.
Everything changes. Sometimes, the change is in a direction that agrees with our future goals, and sometimes it works against those goals. But it’s not a personal attack by a devil or a god. It’s the order of all things. Humans have agendas, plans, and itineraries. Nature has none of these. No hidden agenda, no favoritisms, no biases.
The rain helps those who are rich the same as it helps those who are poor. The sun will shine for billions of years more regardless of if my great-grandmother in-law passes away. Everything will continue in the way that it will.
No stops. No breaks.
All you need to do is hold on for the ride.
