I posted the above photo on Facebook a couple of months ago, and captioned it 'How COVID has made us slow down and do things we should have been doing all along.' Now some five months down the road from the emergency Shelter In Place orders that were delivered to our state on March 19, there are aspects of the pandemic that have, surprisingly, altered my life for the better. And which I will work hard to keep in place even if/as the pandemic recedes over time.
Like taking time to figuratively sit outside and smell the roses, something we increasingly found ourselves not doing pre-pandemic. Our calendars continued to crowd up as we got busier and busier with external activities. Many of which we do miss, to be clear, but many of which we are finding we do not.
I am not missing the multitude of evening activities that involved being indoors somewhere watching something, rather than being an active participant. I am ever so thankful for all of the performances and talks and plays and concerts we have attended over the years, but many times I had to fight to stay awake, because my natural body rhythm is higher in the morning, slower in the evening. I'm a morning dove, not a night owl.
I have no such problems when we are outside. Increasingly our evenings are being spent either picnicking at the beach or our harbor, enjoying an evening swim and sunset viewing from our much-appreciated adult's only swimming pool (Wine! Views! Adult conversation!), dining al fresco at a nearby winery that has live music, or sitting out in someone's yard enjoying a socially distanced evening.
People seem to be craving conversation, ourselves included.
I am reading more. I am making an effort to stay in touch with my girlfriends more (vs. just our couples friends), we are chatting with and reading to our granddaughters multiple times a week via FaceTime rather than just on the weekend. I've taken up new hobbies - SUP yoga, guitar, golfing - and recommitted to those already in my arena of interests - Spanish, weight training, meditation - I'm no longer mourning what used to be, and am increasingly focused on what now is.
Things I am not sure we will return to in the same manner should we have to option to at some point - international travel. We have been fortunate to visit over 55 countries over our adult lifetime, and it was wonderful. However, I experience massive, crippling anxiety when we experience turbulence in the air during the required long haul air flights, and would not miss dealing with a few less of those, for sure. Additionally, we have fallen even more intrinsically in love with where we live than we even were before, and in the process I have learned how to simply be, a very challenging position for me to remain in.
One caveat, however - if and when we here in the USA are able to return to European travel, we'll be heading straight for Germany to visit our youngest daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters.
I've lessened by involvement in social media dramatically, and have appreciated the lift in positivism that decision has made room for as a result. The places where I do remain - blogs I find uplifting, and my positive-only Instagram feed - enhance my life at this point.
So today I will shortly step away from my computer and head out for a day in the altered world of COVID. My plan is to paddleboard around our harbor, then go for a walk around it while listening this engrossing podcast by the New York Times, Nice White Parents. Back home I plan to do some yard work in the shaded parts of my yard, plus a little laundry, then take a book over to our adults pool to read, soak, read, soak, as the heat requires. Some lovely eggplant Parmesan will be assembled in my kitchen for dinner, after which we'll sit outside on our balcony to watch the sunset.
I'm excited about the day. It's been a while since I've been able to say that on a consistent basis, and now that I can, I plan to work hard to stay there.
How about you? What positive changes have you made/experienced in your life as a result of the pandemic?
What an interesting post, and a different twist on the usual 'how covid has changed our lives' comments. Yes, I do think that in some ways we have benefitted, by having to slow down, by having to restrict our movements and not feel obligated to be doing something, somewhere else so frequently and certainly the planet has benefitted from that too with pollution levels dropping. I also think that maybe we weren't as hygienic as we should have been. I never thought twice about getting a trolley at the supermarket and just wheeling it around, now I use the sanitiser spray on the handle and my own hands before using one, and sanitise again once I've unloaded the shopping to the car. Who knows what germs I'd been handling in the past! Slowing down must have been good for so many of us too. But it must be hard to feel so far away from your family when previously they were 'just' a plane ride away. Germany seems to have fared reasonably well with the virus compared to many other countries so fingers crossed your family have stayed well and that a reunion sometime in the new year may be possible.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your contribution, Deb. I appreciate you understood that I was in no way attempting to minimize the pain the virus has caused, both physical and financial. Rather, I am working to focus on the opportunity is has afforded for personal growth since there is nothing I can do about resolving it other than working hard not to get or spread it.
DeleteIt's a philosophy I carry - there is almost always a lesson to be learned in every situation, even a pandemic.
Your positive changes are giving me additional pause as well. Someone online mentioned that this winter will likely see the lowest rates of the flu in years because we are all working so hard to wash our hands, not touch our faces, not touch each other, and remain distanced.
I do miss my family, but I work hard to stay connected via technology. It's not perfect, but it does keep the lines of connection going between visits.
I really appreciate this post, and it's something my friends & I have talked about a lot, during our weekly (virtual) happy hours. Here's my list:
ReplyDelete-More family time
-Relaxed evenings, free of commitments. We'd like a bit more than we have now, so the boys can once again be active & see friends, but perhaps less than we had before
-No international work travel!!
-Card games together
-An appreciation for food we can grow ourselves, and meals we can make at home
-A deep appreciation for the privilege of having another house within days driving distance that brings us close to our family, the ocean, & a change of scenery
-Getting to know our neighbors
-More intentional connection with others
-Work that allows flexibility, and both of us working for a company that deeply cares about their employees
A wonderful list, thank you for sharing. I wonder if years from now children will think of this time fondly because of all the additional time it allowed their parents to spend with them. If you are like me, when I think back to my childhood the best memories are those times spent with family.
DeleteLike you, I have also developed a much stronger sense of community through this. Life is still good if we can work to drown out the noise.