Life has looked very different for everyone in the last two months. Most of us have suddenly been asked to stay home full time, taking care of our children while working from home, or scrambling to piece together unemployment benefits into a grocery delivery slot. It’s been challenging and strange and frightening and sometimes, wonderful.
I know that I’m speaking from a place of real privilege–my husband and I are both able to do our essential jobs from home, and my in-laws are able to help with childcare–so if you’re struggling deeply right now, and not ready to dwell on silver linings or cheerful prognostications, then please feel free to spend your internet somewhere else today. I will not be offended.
But for the most part, the positives of quarantine have far outweighed the negatives for me and my family, and I don’t want to spend all of my time pretending that’s not the case. So here are…
The Top 5 Things I Love about Covid Quarantine
5. Sleeping in and wearing sweatpants to work
It’s such a silly thing, I know. But (especially as I inch into the uncomfortably-big stage of pregnancy) being able to wear whatever feels comfortable every day is amazing!
4. Planting a garden and tending to fresh life outdoors
I’ve been wanting a vegetable garden since we moved into this house in 2018. Now in our third summer, the stars finally aligned and I got my garden bed!
Since every weekend is a project weekend now, my husband built me a raised square foot garden bed and mixed up my soil for me. It’s been in the ground for two weeks now and I’m loving it!
Tending to the garden keeps me spending at least a few minutes in the sunshine and fresh air every day, which has done wonders for my mental state.
3. Keeping on top of chores in my break times
You work 8 hours a day, but you never actually work 8 hours a day. You take breaks to play a phone game on the toilet, or chat with your favorite coworker across the building, or pour your fourth cup of afternoon coffee, or Google your next vacation destination.
I’m making a concious effort as much as I can to get up and stretch every hour or so, and when I do, I’ll put in a load of laundry, or spray toilet bowl cleaner, or tidy up the toys in the living room.
I’m not saying that every day the house ends up cleaner than when we started, but just being able to spend my down-time doing something obviously productive, keeps me more productive at my work as well.
2. Watching my daughter grow and mature
We’re lucky that my in-laws have been able to come and help us take care of our 22-month-old daughter while we’re working from home, but she’s still here, and we’re still here. While this leads to more distractions than I’d sometimes like, I’m so grateful for the extra time I get to spend with her throughout the day.
She’ll pop in to show me what she made with Play Doh, or I’ll pop out to listen to her read me her favorite picture book. Children grow and develop at such a rapid pace at this age, and I’m grateful that, at least for this season of her life, we’re able to be there for all of it.
1. Cancelled plans!
I’m an introvert and my husband is a homebody. In normal life, we love nothing better than a plan-free weekend where we can stay in the house, tackle a project or two, and see no one.
We’ve had eight of those weekends in a row now, and we’re not tired of them yet. We’ve had some incredible moments of family time, along with some real progress on house projects. It’s great. I kind of love it.
There are definitely elements of quarantine that suck, but today, I’m choosing to focus on the things that I’m enjoying.
What silver linings have you experienced since you’ve been stuck at home?
