It is self-quarantine day number……. mmmm. What day is it again?
Somehow, it is all a blur.
I woke up one morning forgetting what day it was. Literally. My kids used to want me to put them to bed on weeknights and sleep in on weekends… why do I feel like it’s just been one long extended weekend?
So like most of you, we’ve been doing our part and staying home — except for the unique moments when my husband or myself have to run to the grocery store.
And we’ve been chugging along as best as we can, half wondering if our lives will go back to some semblance of normalcy — or really what this “new normal” will look like?
I’ve talked to a couple of people these last few days who have transitioned or have somehow made strides in moving their business to a more remote set-up. It’s a struggle for some, and a huge transition for others, and so life does somehow seem busier for a lot of us.
I know that my day’s schedule has to blend in all the meals, the preps, and my brain shifts back and forth constantly from work-to-home-to-kids-to-work-to-laundry…. it’s exhausting! And yet of course — we make do with the situation as best as we can. We have no choice.
But really — we are resilient. We adapt, in more ways than we think. And while I used to think about what it is we were missing out on, we started to think about what this lockdown has made possible for us.
Over these last three weeks (yes, I just checked the calendar), some of our habits have changed. Our lifestyle has definitely changed. And contrary to pre-coronavirus beliefs that I had to be at the grocery every other day, it does seem like we can stock our home and have enough food for a good week and a half.
Well… we also have refrained from food deliveries and eating out — whereas that used to be a weekend habit of ours.
So now, I cook.
Much to my husband’s delight too — because these are recipes “never before seen or tried in my house.”
On our family’s previous schedule — we would never have tried these recipes. And yet — we are definitely eating better, and healthier too. We see it and we feel it!
We’re also exploring new ways to stay entertained. Gifts and items that were once locked away and never played with before are suddenly getting some attention.
My long-time friends and I got on a Zoom call, and that was the most we’ve ever been “together” in such a long time. We realized that we’d never have thought of doing this under normal circumstances.
Ahhh, the Zoom life. What can I say.
We’re also exercising a lot more.
The treadmill that was once a glorified “shelf”, has actually been moving more now than ever. And I do believe that it’s so much better from my husband who’s so used to sitting down all day.
Jamie and I both miss our respective gyms. It’s definitely not the same. But we try to make the best of it with home workouts for me, and Zoom conditioning sessions with her team.
I think the biggest upside to all this is our increased family time together.
The girls are loving the sit down dinners, movie nights, and the fact that they’re seeing us more regularly.
We have no choice but to be together all the time — because we really can’t physically be with anyone else! Thankfully we like each other enough ey. 😉
I can’t say it’s been easy. But as the days go by, I can’t kid myself into thinking that this will soon be over. I hope that it will — and there can be some semblance of what life was like before. But somewhere deep down I know it won’t ever be the same.
I just have to keep going back to accepting this new reality, and looking at what this is making possible for myself and my family.
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