Very Specific Things I’ve Realized While Staying Home

With the news chirping away about lifting restrictions on Covid-19 stay-at-home orders, T and I both looked at each other the other night and said “we’re not sure we’re ready for life to go back to normal again”. Seriously? Are we crazy? Maybe it’s the anxiety we have over how we see our city dealing with the crisis. Things definitely shut down & our close social circle has been staying home as directed, but it’s the steady traffic, the packed greenhouses, the unmasked residents that make us worry we are in for a long year.

We’ve settled into a new routine. I’m sure everyone has as it’s simple human nature to readjust and define routines. For some reason, thinking about going back to normal seems daunting. Probably because we’re not even sure what the “normal” will be. Are we over the hump? Can we trust the decision our country is making based on what the experts are or aren’t saying? So many questions. A little doubt, a lot of hope.

We’ve all experienced high days and low days while stuck in our homes. For me, those low days have brought insightful feelings about stress and work. The high days springing funnier realizations about meal prep and getting comfortable with hardly touching my make up brushes. Figured it all worthy of documentation.

Work from home-life balance is actually very difficult

I had been back at work less than a month after maternity leave when the pandemic changed everything. During those few weeks I was in the office, we adjusted to life as two working parents with one kid going to daycare and a dog staying home, going to grandmas or to daycare himself. After deciding to cut some hours at work to help us navigate this new lifestyle, everything was starting to fall into place when my office went fully remote. What I found almost immediately was the difficulty of actually logging off when your commute to the couch is seconds away. It immediately felt like I needed to be available at all times. I now understand why entrepreneurs say it’s nearly impossible to set office hours. Going on week seven, I finally figured out keeping a strict on and off schedule is not only ok, but mandatory for my sanity.

Will video chats replace meetings?

Seriously though, will they? I never thought I’d see the day of being so comfortable on a video chat. We have multiple daily team gatherings on Microsoft Teams. My co-workers have now seen my house at multiple angles & my face with or without make up, my hair usually a mess. It just doesn’t matter anymore because we’re all in the same boat… and I kind of love it. It may be a while until work life goes back to complete normalcy and in meantime, I think companies will continue to utilize modern technology more than ever.

Don’t underestimate a good beat… or dance break

Whether high or low, a day never passes by without feeling the need to release some anxiety or energy with a good beat and feel-good dance move. I mean, that’s why TikTok is having a major moment, right? I think it’s amazing what that funny little app has done to everyone’s home life. I don’t care how dumb you think it is, we all need mood boosters right now, so let it be. I may not have a TT account, but I am officially a Spotify Premium subscriber. Quarantine win. My playlists have never looked better!

I’ve been in the dark on frozen vegetables

Like every person in the world, we’ve been trying to avoid public places, especially the grocery store. The place literally makes me panic. And while trying to avoid eating mac & cheese for dinner every night, we stocked up on frozen vegetables. Something I’ve never really done in the past. Um, why?! I have no idea. Fresh are definitely best in some instances, but the convenience is amazing. We have actually been eating veggies more often because they’re in the freezer, not going bad in the fridge or pantry. I’ve read a lot of articles on why frozen vegetables are actually a perfectly healthy choice for stocking your kitchen. Obviously, you still need to be smart, but I’m all on board for this even after quarantine!

There’s always a bright side

Seeing the good in a pandemic? I feel like a terrible person just thinking it. There is so much suffering and my heart aches for the people with loved ones in the hospital where they can’t even visit. My gosh, when I really sit back & think about it, I cannot believe how lucky we are to be healthy and have a healthy family right now. But we all need rays of hope. And I do believe (or really want to believe) this whole thing will teach our society what’s truly important. The idea that slowing down is ok. That togetherness should be a priority. That the simple things in life are what truly matter. I try to stay focused on being blessed with more time at home with Emmett while he’s so young. Even though, at times, I could pull my hair out balancing his infant needs and my daily workload (plus house chores, dinner, you know…), I try to sit back, take a deep breath and realize one day, I’ll be yearning for days like these.

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Has anything come to light for you during quarantine?

xoxo. B