Is it just me or are you just waiting for the lights to turn up and everyone to start applauding that the latest “doomsday” movie is over?! Seriously, this whole situation couldn’t have been thought up by the majority of us and the fact that there is no definite end in sight just seems unreal!
So, I’m not going to sugar-coat this: this time sucks [for a lot of us]! First off, the financial aspect of all of this is insane! Whether your hours have been cut, you’ve been laid off completely, or your typical sources of income have been frozen for an indefinite amount of time, there’s no denying that we’ve all been affected negatively by this quarantine in some degree. There’s no getting around this and it is what it is, so I’m just going to leave it at that. We are all in this together and will all get out of it one step at a time! So let’s move on…
Between our kids being home and bugging us 24/7 (and possibly our husbands too!), the work we have to get done, homeschooling, and our typical household responsibilities, the small bits of time we had to ourselves has probably all but diminished! Or has it?!
Look at the bright-side! No more carpools or having to be somewhere at a specific time, there’s no need to stress if your nail polish is chipped or you’re having a bad hair day, and you may even be able to enjoy the outdoors more than usual thanks to the warming temps and flowers that are starting to bloom! I know our 10+ walks a day over here have been a life-saver ;).
With all that said, I want to give you 5 more ways that you can turn these uncertain times into something positive – things that in fact you may have been looking at as a negative. Because in reality, we all go through hard times during various seasons of our lives. It’s just how we asses them that truly can make or break the situation. So, let’s dive into it:
1) You Get to Homeschool. Hear me out. Yes, we’ve never had more appreciation for our children’s teachers than we do now. Trust me, I’m there with you! But when have you ever been sooo involved in your child’s schooling before? From work meetings and conference calls (during our kids’ field trips or “explore” days) to just plain being too tired at the end of the day to really spend quality time with them doing homework, we are now forced to be completely engaged in our children’s’ schoolwork and what they are learning – and even though it can be extremely frustrating, we’re definitely better parents because of it! Even if they don’t act like it, they truly do appreciate the time! In fact, my kids are loving homeschool better than “real school” – which is not what I was going for, but I’ll take it. Haha.
2) We Get to Sleep In. Well, kind-of. My 18-month old was up at 4:30 am this morning (and still hasn’t napped – which may explain some of my grammatical errors here), but in general, we don’t have to be anywhere so we most likely don’t have to set our alarms! This means we can sleep in and maybe even stay up a bit later, getting that much-needed quality time with our significant other than we generally don’t have time for.
3) We Get to Clear Out the Pantry. Ok, I’ll admit it, I’m a food hoarder. Part of it stems from growing up with two brothers and a dad who ate everything in sight (so I literally had to hide any foods I wanted to eat – because otherwise they’d be gone!). And part of it is due to my job and the fact that I get sent tons of random foods and ingredients – many of which I use as one-offs, but not on a regular basis (hello pickle juice “drink”, I’m talking to you!). With all that said, I have loads of foods that I don’t necessarily “love” and therefore would probably never eat – unless this sort-of occasion arises and I haven’t gone to the store in 3 weeks and every time I try to order things online only half my order shows up! Which brings me to #4…
4) Experimenting in the Kitchen. With all these random ingredients we now need/get to use them in our daily meals. This causes us to be creative. And while “being creative in the kitchen” isn’t everyone’s forte, you may actually learn you enjoy it more than you thought! You can even get your kids to help – which has become part of our daily “math and science lessons”.
5) Having More Time to Catch Up with Loved Ones and Friends. Ok, I’ll be the first to say I don’t love talking on the phone. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to my friends and family, it’s just that I barely have time to catch up on my daily emails, posts, chores, etc. as it is. Plus, every time I try to talk on the phone, my kids all start climbing up my legs, yelling at each other, or making it pretty much impossible to hear a word from whomever I’m talking to, so it ends up being a big disaster anyway. Now, since I’m around them 24/7, it’s easier to get that time. Or, I try to make those calls on one of our 10 walks around the neighborhood that we take a day. Hey, whatever works!
Obviously, there are many more things that you can look at as positives right now, and I encourage you to think about them! And even leave me a comment as to what your favorite part of being “quarantined” right now is! Because there is always an upside, sometimes it just takes us a while to figure out what that might be.
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Keep Up to Date on the Latest COVID-19 News:
WHO Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
CDC Coronavirus Disease 2019 page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
WHO COVID-19 Situation Reports: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports
CDC’s COVD-19 travel advisory page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html
