Family First
/One thing that the pandemic did was that it brought the core family together but then created a wall around the rest. Most of us did not get to see parents for over a year, or even close to two. Luckily there was Zoom or FaceTime but it was still not the same…
For the first time in my entire life, I have not seen my family (in person) for almost two years. I missed the warmth of their skins as we hug and the laughters that are far beyond the volume of a phone or a computer. September was the month, when I was able to hug my parents in person. I was even more touched as I watched Kaya and Ela not letting go of their “anneanne” and “dede” (grandma and grandpa). We had to break our core family to see the “rest” and that part was definitely not easy. But at least we had a set timeline where we knew when we were going back to the core. Certainly, the hardest part of the COVID separation from the “rest” was the uncertainty of “when to get back together”. Even this time around, we were all hesitant to promise future dates - very sad!
My grandma and my daughter - unconditional love
Taste of first dinner together after two years
During our stay, we manage to dedicate our days to family. My grandma came over almost every single day when we were in Istanbul. My brother took days off of work to be with us. My aunt flew from Switzerland to meet us. The rest of the family met us in my parents’ house. It was as if we were never apart. I didn’t even let my friends know that I would be around. As much as I missed them too, I just didn’t want to leave the side of my mom or my dad. The fear of “what if I can’t see them for another 2 years” was constantly at the back of my mind. Kids are a great indication of how quickly years go by, whether you feel it or not. Just like I would not like my family miss those years with the kids, I also wouldn’t like my kids to miss any precious years with rest of the family. Therefore every minute, in my opinion, is special and should be treated as such. And as parents, we owe it to our kids to spend that quality time with rest of the family.
For those of you who might not know, my family participates in my weekly workout session - mostly on Saturdays, due to the time difference. For this month, I changed the timing of our Wednesday session to accommodate being in Turkey - so that I would not need to teach a class at 2am. With that, each class became even more family focused. There was on Saturday class, where we actually celebrated my mom’s birthday, the core family that I grew up in and both of my kids were in one patio working out together - not to mention the numerous pushups that we did to celebrate my mom. It was extra special when we also have the US crew on Zoom participating in the same family moment.
SMILE capture from that special saturday class
It is important to take a moment and enjoy the time with family and absorb the love, fully. No matter how far we can be physically, that love always keeps us together and strong. With that, here is a quick strength challenge, a repeat from the past months:
“Perfect Pushup” - twice a day for 5 counts each, for the full month of October. Can you do it?
Here is a quick reminder of a perfect pushup:
It doesn’t mean that you have to be on your toes. You are more than welcome to be on your knees.
Keep your back straight and butt tucked in
If you are on your knees, make sure that your hands are in front of your shoulders.
If you are on your toes, make sure that the hands are under your shoulders
TAKE your time
If you can’t do 5, hold a “superman” for 10 counts.
Superman: Lay down on the ground, on your stomach. Lift hands and feet off of the ground. Hold until YOU can.
I will be looking forward to seeing your success stories on the comments, if you take me up on my challenge.
If you can, give your family members (core or rest or both) a nice hug - both you and they would certainly feel great! High five to you all for getting through these times as isolated as we have been.
Core Family reunited
