*This article is a 2 minute read.
It's been four months since our world turned upside down. Initially, I could handle it. The lockdown wasn't that bad, but as the weeks went on I craved personal space, silence, and most of all fresh air sound familiar?
Attached To My Family 24/7 In 1,000 Square Feet
The good news is that my family is healthy, employed, and got through the first leg of a pandemic. We learned to have fun with very little. My child now entertains himself at home, and showed great compassion toward others who are most vulnerable, basically no whining.
Not Quite A Bed of Roses!
I longed to escape more than once to a seaside cabin in Maine with my dog and a good stock of wine, but I had to settle for my Juliette balcony, and a bevy of suburban noise. At my lowest point, I threatened to run away to a destination without a lockdown where I would bask on the beach like it was 2019. It never happened, but I have my fantasies!
My 11 Pandemic Gripes
Constant reminders to wash my hands after I just washed them.
Being told I haven't washed my hands long enough, "Sing Happy Birthday while lathering up!"
Finding my son on Tik Tok.
Busting my son on You Tube.
Constantly hearing the television, or video game noise throughout the day.
Catching my breath anytime someone asked me, "Did you hear what happened today?"
Empty supermarket shelves.
Hearing my family complain about breakfast, lunch or dinner after slaving in the kitchen. This is more annoying during a pandemic when food is scarce, and one is forced to shop at multiple stores in search of paper towels (don't get me started on paper towels).
Canceling all plans for the next six months, only to be asked by loved ones what we we're doing for the next six months.
Discovering how grey my hair really is.
Learning how much unnecessary junk we actually own, and being forced to live with it, or dump it in a landfill and suffer from the guilt of being wasteful.
10 Things That Kept Us Going
Fake Vacations-We traveled from Hawaii to New Orleans, to Maine and New Zealand creating the destination on canvas and cooking food from that region. This is a new family tradition that we plan to continue. We're off to Philadelphia for July 4th and looking forward to it! We're making a Liberty Bell, studying the Declaration of Independence, and cooking Philly Cheese Steaks.
Gourmet Food-Not to be understated, we dined on lobster, and my personal favorite a New Zealand Kiwi Burger. You haven't lived until you've consumed a Kiwi Burger. My son pitched in the kitchen, gained culinary skills, and learned the importance of presentation when plating food.
Drawing, Painting, Crafting! We love all the above, but we never created so much art before. It truly lifted our spirits.
Gardening & Composting! Gardening is like a work-out, it's hard to get to the gym, but you're always glad that you did.
Reading- We read "The Diary of A Young Girl," by Anne Frank which is a reality check for anyone complaining about a brief quarantine. The years the Frank family spent in hiding was truly harrowing.
Homeschooling- You might be wondering how this made my list. We opted out of his school's distance learning program, and I taught my child with old fashioned library books. According to my kid, it's the highlight of his weekday. He even requested homeschooling during the summer months. He loves history, art, science, and after years of hating math, he now looks forward to it. Are you aware that most schools no longer teach multiplication tables, how to carry numbers, and borrow when subtracting? Time at home brought my child up to speed in math without judgement. He no longer fears it. Dollar Tree has tons of $1 workbooks, Youtube has great tools like Liberty's Kids, and Homeschool Pop all free.
Board Games & Puzzles-We had a serious board game collection that was collecting dust prior to the pandemic, now we play for hours. Another plus there are several board games that require math skills.
Movie Nights-Always present in our lives, but for the pandemic we added Disney+ and it's been great seeing some of my childhood favorites and some new hits with my family. The hit Broadway show Hamilton is coming to Disney Plus July 3rd!
Spending Time With The Pooch-My dog is loving our extra time together. He knew just when to give us hugs and kisses, and every day I'm grateful for him.
Going For Walks- Vitamin D, exercise, need I say more?
My takeaway, we're going to pull through this. Take care of yourselves, stay positive, be cautious about going outside and weigh benefits and risks. Wear masks and practice social distancing we will prevail. Historically, we've made it through past pandemics and hardships. When we do return to normal it will feel fabulous!
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