As you know, it’s been more than 3 weeks since schools closed and we are all under a Stay-At-Home order. While being home has come with so many emotions, and too much eating (at least for me) I’ve decided to reflect on my personal silver lining in this forced staycation.
I realize everyone may not have the same feeling of calmness or the ability to see a bright side but looking for the positive has helped me mentally and emotionally. So here’s my list;
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I have a home and I get to be home– First of all I need to be thankful that I’m not living on the street and have a place of my own to stay. I’m safe, have running utilities, and have a comfortable living situation.
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I get to spend time at home– Before this unofficial but official quarantine, I was rarely home. My house was the place where I slept, kept my stuff was and saw my kids, usually briefly. Being home has helped my fall in love with my home again. I’ve cleaned up, gone in my attic to find old mementos and finally put that pile of clothes away that’s been sitting in my basement. I also tackled some home improvement projects.
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No rushing around– By having a business, I set my daily schedule, but what I’ve found out is that I do a lot of extra stuff that now seems unnecessary. I remember and don’t miss the stress of getting kids up and out the door so they’ll be on time. Being frantic about someone not adhering to the morning bathroom schedule, rushing around to meetings, looking for parking or having to worry about after school pickups.
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I’ve experienced hard times before– A few years ago I had an AWFUL financial year. While this year is not good for so many (including myself) at least the process feels supportive and I don’t have to worry about utilities being disconnected. Trust me worrying about that is no fun.
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Why do I own so many clothes– After the first few weeks of staying at home I realized that I’m only wearing a few core pieces of clothing from my wardrobe. As my heavy rotation clothes go from washer to hamper I began to realize there are 2 closets of clothes that I’m not wearing and don’t miss wearing. I know that I’ll have too back to wearing professional clothes at some point but I can definitely do without buying a bunch of new clothes and can give away some of those excess clothes.
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Cost savings– Speaking of not buying clothes, there are so many other ways I’m not spending money. For starters, I’m not stopping for gas every few days. I’m actually kind of bummed out about that because I want to take advantage of the low gas prices around the city.
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Also, I’m not running out to Walmart or Target or Marshall’s every couple of days to pick up “one quick thing.” Thinking back it’s kind of crazy how much I stuff I thought I needed that would cause me to run out the store. I’m also thinking about how much I saved by not shopping for a “normal” Easter celebration. No new clothes for the family, no hair and nail appointments (although I need a hair and nail appointment) and no buying a bunch of Easter candy.
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I’m definitely saving on food costs too. No stops for coffee, or bagels or lunch during my daily commute and I’m staying out of grocery stores and much as possible. I hope I can keep this up when all of the restrictions are lifted.
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Connecting with people- So far I’ve been to 2 virtual birthday parties and had an impromptu college reunion. The cool thing about this is that the people on these Zoom or Hangouts calls were all in different states and probably wouldn’t have come together if we had a real…in-person gathering. I’ve watched families celebrate holidays together on the same video call and friends connecting more often. It seems like we’ve begun to prioritize human connection over other responsibilities now because I’ve not heard of many people having scheduling conflicts.
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Support of one another- When we began the school and business closures we saw supports for the poor or needy. Area school districts and organizations are providing food in the neighborhoods, the state made it easier to file for services, and people are calling for and showing compassion to others as we go through this pandemic. We’re seeing people thankful for our state officials even if they are not part of the same political party and social media post saying it’s okay to take some time to just feel and process what’s going on. It just seems like people are being more considerate and patient.
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Experiencing less– I almost hadn’t noticed it at first but I’m getting fewer telemarketers or spam phone calls, and less junk mail. I can get used to this.
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I’ve got Me Time- There’s only so much Netflix I can watch so I decided to explore my creative side. I’ve also gone back to revisiting hobbies I used to enjoy like listening to music, reading, scrapbooking, and planting flowers. Luckily over the past few years, I’ve been saying I was going to do those things and had already purchased materials that have just been sitting around in my house.
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Time with my kids- I have 2 kids in high school. In fact my daughter is a high school senior. While we should be getting ready for all those monumental senior moments like prom, graduation, senior breakfast and parent nights, we are home…together. While my heart aches for her since she won’t get to experience these rites of passage, I am secretly happy that I get so much more time with her before she goes off to college in the fall.
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Before the virus she said we were almost operating like roommates. Always on the go, rarely all in the same space together now we have breakfast together, I get to hear her online with her friends and teachers, we play games together. I would have never gotten this time if it weren’t for a pandemic
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I get to analyze and assess what’s working– Yes that makes me happy. By being stuck at home, I’ve had time to reflect on what’s working or not working in my life. I’ve had the opportunity to take a step back and examine personal friendships, business relationships, business processes, and money decisions. Also I finally got around to canceling some of those subscriptions I keep forgetting about until it’s too late.