It's now been a month since I was sent home to work due to COVID-19. I figured it was a good time to look at whats changed in the last 4 weeks.
To summarize: A lot. For everyone.
There's no question in everyone's mind that this month has been hard on the head for everyone, but I think a lot of good has blossomed as well.
I have not hugged another human in over a month. That has been a very bizarre reality for me as I am one who enjoys a hug.
My heart breaks for those who find themselves without employment at this time, especially self employed individuals who invested so much into their empire and may not make it out of this storm.
I've found the easiest way to get through this is to focus on the positives that are coming out of this.
The helpers are coming out in all shapes and sizes. I see friends donating their time and skills to aid with people who need food or PPE while they have so much extra free time.
I am blessed with employment that can be done from home so I've done my best to share financially wherever I can.
Although my groceries are arriving in plastic bags for the first time in years, air pollution is down across the globe. That. Is an enormous win for our planet and everyone and everything who lives on it. And believe me, not a single one of those "single use" plastic bags in my house will only be used once. It'll be nice not having to hunt for something to put cat litter in for a little bit.
I've learned a lot this past month:
1. The ideal exercise time for me seems to be 8am surprisingly. Right after the coffee. I haven't missed many morning workouts since this all began.
Activity has always been a struggle since starting the office work 4 years ago. I'm dedicated to keeping this routine.
2. I hate going to grocery stores now. I'll be ordering in advance and just picking things up long after this whole thing is over! I've also made use of an an amazing online farmers market ordering system that allows me to simply pick up my order with minimal human interaction.
This allows me all the fresh foods I'm used to without the hassle of crowds and I can still support locals!
(wfm2go.com if you’re local in NS. Bonus, there's also no plastic bags involved, yay!)
3. Cupboards go bare fast when you're home all the time! I'm planning meals out much better, cooking 3 meals a day, 7 days a week you have to. (I miss sitting in a restaurant.) There is very little being wasted and although I know my grocery bill has obviously increased, I still feel like I'm saving.
Helps that life isn't as busy and I'm not eating as much takeout. Amazingly I have not eaten a single order of takeout all month! (my pants are thanking me)
4. I need more time for projects. I have gotten SO much done in the past 30 days. Things that may have taken me months and years otherwise. A lot of these project were a go even before the pandemic hit so it really drove home how overwhelmed I probably would have gotten in the near future trying to get everything done. My "normal" life does not let me express myself as I would like. This was a big eye opener for me. I've always assumed the answer was to do less, but now it feels like I should focus on how I'm doing things, and try to do things smarter.
At the beginning of it all, I found a great set of questions that you can ask yourself each day that makes the whole process a little easier. I'm so blessed to have a big house with lots of distractions, without it, I would not feel nearly as stable and strong as I am today. This entire experience would be different if we were still in my tiny townhouse in the city.
Daily Quarantine Questions
I know not everyone is as lucky as me to have a large space to embrace, but even in the smallest of spaces I believe these questions can be answered by anyone daily and it does a world of help.
Well that’s it for now. Still not bored. A little less pudgy. It could be worse?
xoxo Nicole
