Mindfulness to make do and mend

by Christina Cran, Wee Seeds Founder

During World War Two they coined the phrase Make Do and Mend* to encourage housewives to be frugal by providing them with tips on how to use their rations wisely.

Today, as Coronovirus takes a second grip around our lives, I find myself returning to the slogan to get me through the day. Making do with what I have and using it wisely feels like all I can do right now.

🧵 I can’t see my family, so I make do with Zoom.

🧵 I can’t get to the shops, so I make do with deliveries.

🧵 I can’t get to the cinema, so we make do with movie nights and pizza.

🧵 I can’t get outside some days cause the weather is rubbish, so I make do with ‘hygge-ing’ my house.

🧵 I can’t go visit my friends for lunch, so we’re becoming more creative with coffee in the park.

🧵 Boy Child can’t see his pals, so we picked up his friend and walked them in the rain to get ice cream!

It doesn’t make the whole situation any less awful — but it does make it bearable.

And it’s not just my surroundings that I’m making do with either — it’s also my emotions. I don’t know about you — but I can go through a whole range of emotions in one day, never mind a week.

Mindfulness teaches us to meet things where they are; to sit with yourself as you are, without judgment. So I’m meeting myself where I am.

💚 If I’m sad, that’s OK. Who isn’t right now?

💚 If I’m happy, that’s OK. It’s good to feel it when it’s there.

💚 If I’m angry, that’s OK. There’s a lot to be angry about.

💚 If I can’t be the parent I want to be at that precise moment in time, that’s OK. I’ll be there soon.

💚 If I’m absolutely desperate for some time alone, that’s OK. We all need space.

💚 If I’m happy and sad and angry all at the same time, that’s OK. The storm will pass.

Meeting ourselves where we are is OK. It affords us the space to recognise where we are, where we want to be, and where we need to make do.

Knowing how you are allows you to acknowledge what you need: what you need to mend. Practice giving yourself some time each day to notice how you are feeling and think of ways to give care to that need.

We also need to allow our children that space — this is difficult for them too. As C.S.Lewis said: “Children are NOT a distraction from more important work. They are THE MOST important work.”

Here are our top tips for helping them right now.

1. Make do. While you might want your child to be calm, or rest, or sleep through the night, they’re also feeling a lot right now. How can you make do with that — how can you support them, what do they need to feel better?

2. Allow them to be. Spend time with them doing nothing. Remember those lockdown days where we were juggling, and things were hard. But there were also some wonderful moments of peace and quiet. Try to find them again and allow your family to sit in them for a while.

3. Mend. Cuddle them. Cuddling releases happy hormones. Find time to snuggle down together, you’ll all feel the benefit.

4. Talk to them. We recently discovered through an accidental chat that Boy Child was harbouring a host of deep down worries he hadn’t considered telling us. We can find out a lot from our children, if we make the space to talk and listen. How are they feeling? What’s happening in their heads? If they’re too young to talk, maybe helping them draw, or asking them where they feel things in their bodies can give us some clues.

We are all struggling right now. Make do and mend with what you have, for it is all we have right now.

Love

Christina, and the Wee Seeds Team. x

For your calming mindfulness toolbox for your early years children, visit Wee Seeds

*Make Do and Mend was a pamphlet issued by the British Ministry of Information in the midst of WWII. It was intended to provide housewives with useful tips on how to be both frugal and stylish in times of harsh rationing. To maintain one’s possessions for as long as possible, repairing rather than replacing them when needed, with the goal of not buying and/or consuming more than is necessary.