On the bright side!
I have been on a bit of a roller coaster ride with the onsite of COVID-19 and its impact on society, my local sphere of friends and family, my own personal family, and my own mental grasp. With the pictures on social media of food-less shelves and lack of toilet paper, makes my head reel and if I’m not careful, leaves me a little panicky.
I still don’t know the exact extent of this as I read and hear medical experts admit that THEY don’t even know the whole impact. But here’s one thing, most of us are about to be home more and with it comes a bright side.
Here are some ways to embrace this COVID-19 temporary lock-down. And I will warn you there are some swear words.
slow the fuck down - there’s less on our plates and less that we have to do and less that is available to us. I know just by having one daughter have no soccer, this saves about 5 hours in my week from driving and soccer related events. Honestly it’s probably closer to 10 hours if you consider games too. No need to rush home and rush off and rush back. I have about an hour back in my day to slow down. BREATHE….
catch up on sleep - because I don’t need to drive kids to school and drive to work. Honestly I am pretty good on sleep and get an average of 7 hours a night. But I can feel that sometimes I need 8-10 hours of sleep and I am finally get some of that. Also catching a 20-min cat nap is also beneficial.
spend time outdoors - In S. Cal we are getting an unusual amount of rain and drizzle keeping the trails damp and roads wet. Although the conditions may seem unpleasant, they are quite the opposite - it is refreshing and the temps are just right. It’s about 65 degrees which is just the right amount to go on a walk, run, jog, ride. Don’t over dress…bring a lite vest if you feel you will be cold.. and grab an umbrella if showers are nearby.
spend quality time with your family. Many of my compadres have children ranging from infants all the way up to teenagers and young college kids. This is a wonderful time to catch up with each other, slow down, hang out, play games, and connect. And to go off my #3 point, there are great local places to go on walks and explore your local trails. As soon as you start looking, you will quickly learn how the trails and houses interconnect.
cook at home. I think this might be my favorite. I find great pleasure in shopping and cooking dinner for myself and my family. But with the family home 24/7 we will all be home more often. Some may grumble but I think it’s wonderful. It helps us slow down and enjoy our meal as opposed to eating at our desks. It doesn’t have been a huge endeavor but to sit down and eat together is a gift. Another take on this notion is to cook TOGETHER especially if you have children. They don’t have to do homework (which is a different topic) so now they can help more and be part of the process. I feel like there’s an opportunity to make a sarcastic comment about how everyone is loaded with rice and canned food but I’m hoping it will all go to use (side bar - I still don’t get why people did such mass shopping.. hoping it makes sense later)
This is a pretty major event that has hit our generation, our parents’ generation and our children’s generation at the same time. The memory of this time, especially for our children, will reflect our own values and how we approached this time.
Hoping everyone stays healthy.
Chi