Little Alexx Blog

It’s been a bit of a blue week, for everyone it seems. Lives have been lost, jobs have been suspended, plans canceled… I’ve been struggling with it all. The last time we talked, I was trying to keep a positive thought about everything going on, however I have to admit, it’s been hard. I went from living alone and having a really nice routine every day to completely flipping that life upside down. I am someone who needs a purpose in her life. I wish I could live aimlessly, without a project, without something to fix but alas, I am not. I am a woman who NEEDS SOMETHING TO DO! Homework isn’t enough for me, I’ve finished all that, watching Netflix all days makes me lazy and sad and I can only take Hemy for so many walks and hikes (hello spring weather! Rainy and cold one day, sunny and summer the next!) So, I set my sights on my family’s restaurant.

If you didn’t know already, my family and I are of course like most stereotypical Greeks and have at least one “Nick” in the family, use a ridiculous amount of Windex, constantly trying to set me up to marry someone, and own a Greek restaurant, in which we all work at. It’s loud, everyone is screaming at each other in broken Greek and English, and we’ve all been fired and then rehired the following day. Welcome to my Big Fat Greek Life. We own a little Greek deli in the heart of downtown Branson, Missouri, that has its very own pair of naked Greek statues outside to welcome hungry tourists. With my 73 year old Popou cooking in the back, Yiayia in the front doing the register, we’ve all worked in some way in the front or back to bring authentic homemade Greek food to many who have never had it before!

However, for the time being, we are limited to only take out, on the weekends, (Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11am-3pm!!) which is odd for a restaurant that never seems to shut. During this time, I decided to take matters into my own hands, and figure some stuff out. We opened our doors to our little deli 7 years ago and since then, with less than 1 or 2 days shut a year, there hasn’t been much time to remodel. Boy, did we need it. So I’ve been working! I take a lot of pride in my projects and hobbies, and since it is for my family, I wanted to make sure it is absolutely perfect. Now, by no means am I close to ready, but it’s a very nice thing to wake up in the morning and know what my plans are for the day, as well as shutting down for the evening, seeing my completed work.

Every day this week, I’ve come back to bed knowing I did something, not just watched a full series on Netflix or ate a whole bowl of mashed potatoes because I was feeling down, but that I did actual work so that when this whole thing is over, life can go back to a sense of normalcy.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Today was my first “time off” day in a while and so far I’ve taken 2 naps with my dog and ate dinner with my grandparents at 1:30pm. I did all my homework for the week a few days ago to get it out of my way, but man, today has been lazy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, there is power in getting up, taking a shower, feeding your body, and cleaning up a little bit. But believe me. Even for me, I know that sometimes it’s hard to do the bare minimum. These next few weeks will become even harder for some, but we have to persevere through it. There is such a full life on the other side of this mess, a life in which we are stronger.

I really still can’t believe this is happening. I’m actually a little lost for words because no one could have imagined what this has come to. The world is completely upside down, and we are expected to try to stay right side up, without sometimes any comfort in the fact that it’s okay to not but okay. I really struggled with that the past few weeks. It was hard last week to kind of bite that bullet and try to be positive, when really, I was actually really sad and pissed that my life just took a pause. I was happy, damn it. But, this is life. And we gotta make the most of it. I do give some advice though. Figure out what triggers you. For me, I can’t listen to the news all day every day, like my grandparents do. I have been limiting my social media scrolling, turning off the TV, leaving the room if I feel anxious. It’s kind of touch and go, and while I do believe we should be informed, limit your time dwelling on it. Figure out works best for you. Find a routine. Find something that makes you happy.

I urge you all to be as safe as possible and to think less about themselves and more about others. This thing is hurting everyone, young and old. So do your part, support each other, love each other, and when this is over, it’s going to be a huge celebration.

https://youtu.be/JHHB-Osy9uc

Today’s Mantra:

“I AM going to get through this.”

Blessings, a