I don't think anyone will forget the year 2020 as it will be a year that will leave many memories both good and bad. Who would have predicted that when we welcomed in the year 2020 that it was going to be a year that was to change so many people's lives. Who knew that a virus called the Corona would change the world in so many ways. I know I never thought in a million years that I would be writing this article while sitting on a bean bag chair in my master bathroom. My family is having to shelter in place and can't leave the house unless we have to work, get food or medical supplies. We can also leave the house to exercise outside but have to follow social distancing rules like we do if we go to the store. My town has set these guidelines to help stop the spread of the respiratory virus disease and we may have another month before we can leave the house again. At this time we don't really know about how long we have to practice the rule of staying 6 feet away from people and staying home. If it will help people from getting sick and dying, then I will do my part and stay home.
Staying home means I am safe
I am thankful that my master bathroom is the size of a small bathroom and my master bathroom was remodeled 2 years ago so it is a pleasant place to work in for several hours. My bathroom has become my temporary office while other family members are in other rooms of the house doing online school or working from home. My husband is no longer leaving to go to work as he is working from home. My kid's schools, including the college kid, has shut down for the school year. All in the hopes that people staying home will stop the spread of this awful 2019 virus and flatten the curve. I am glad that my house is big enough so my husband can sit in the living room making phone calls all day in his new office and my college kid can sit in his bedroom to participate in online college classes. The middle school kids are in the dining room playing with Legos as their school has not provided any instruction at this time. I am not able to home school them as the stress to both of us is not a good thing at this time.
Working from home has its challenges right now and my work has not slowed down but I am learning to take the job that I used to do while the kids were at school and spread it out throughout the day so I can also be a parent, wife, cook, cleaner, etc. That 8 hours that used to leave me with a quiet house is gone as everyone is home all the time now. Not being able to leave the house except for 1 hour of exercise in the morning has made life different. My new normal is very different. I am learning to be creative in the kitchen and thankful for the food that I stockpiled over the years in my two deep freezers. Who knew that I would get excited about a bag of frozen apple slices and overcooked pinto beans. I just wish that I could get the food my kids enjoy like eggs and bananas but I am staying away from stores that have little on their shelves, to avoid catching the awful virus. We did try getting groceries delivered but many of the things we wanted we not available and ended up paying $6 for a dozen eggs.
It is the little things that make me smile
I am discovering that the little things can make me happy or annoy me. The little things that are making me happy right now are toilet paper, flour, and running. I normally buy 30 rolls of toilet paper as it is a better deal so when I went to put it away in the closet, I discovered 20 more rolls so now I can share with my adult children who are running low. Never would I have imagined that there would be a toilet paper shortage. Never would I imagine that people would hoard food like flour and eggs. The trucks and factories can't keep up with the demand for many things like medical supplies, food, and cleaning supplies. Never would I imagine that I could not buy garbanzo beans to make my vegan tuna salad recipe. I am thankful for the pinto beans that I had in my stockpile so I can make plenty of meatless meals.
It is a nightly cup of tea with my boys that brings a smile to my face as I am glad that they are all safe and I am glad that we have plenty of Manuka Honey to sweeten our tea with and strengthen our immune system. I am glad that we are all healthy and no one needs any cold and flu tea to soothe a sore throat. I am thankful that I connect with family on the internet and search for a recipe for cookies that don't require eggs so we can celebrate my son's birthday. I am thankful for a friend who blessed me with several bags of flour so I can make homemade wheat bread for sandwiches.
I learned that fitness with the family is awesome
I dreaded the closer of the gym near my house as that meant that I would not be able to lift weights but I also discovered that my family is helping me stay fit and strong. My younger son started joining me on my morning runs so I have been enjoying his companionship and have become each other's fitness trainers. On the days that my son bikes he motivates me to run faster and on the days that my son chooses to run, I am coaching him how to run with asthma. So my son is also able to manage his asthma naturally without an inhaler. My older son has been inspiring me with his creative at-home weight lifting routine that uses no weights and has been showing me how to keep my muscles strong with fitness bands.
My son showed me different strength exercised to do so I could tone my arms and abs better. I think my at-home weight lifting routine is harder than what I was doing at the gym. I am glad that I discovered a CBD maximum relief balm for my sore muscles from the extra exercise that I have been doing with my kids.
I learned that pulling weeds in the spring is easier
Now that I had more time on my hands since we had to practice self-isolation at home, I was determined to get the yard work done so I could enjoy it once the weather was warmer. So I decided to pull the weeds as I could not spay them with my All Natural Homemade Weed Killer Spray That Works In A Day as stores had no vinegar since people were hoarding that too thinking that it would kill the germs from the virus outbreak. So while the boys played outside I pulled weeds. I discovered that spring weeds are easier to pull as their roots were not as long as they were when I waited to pull them in the summer. I also like the cooler temperatures when I pulled weeds so I could wear long sleeves and pants to prevent my body from breaking out in hives from the weeds. So maybe next year I will find the time in the spring to pull my weeds.
The little things that annoy me are the never-ending piles of dirty dishes and dirty clothes. It seems that these kids are eating all day and the dishwasher is always full. You would think that staying at home would require fewer clothes but with the increase of handwashing and a college kid who exercises twice a day has the washing machine working overtime. So I am glad that I have plenty of environmentally-friendly detergent on hand to keep my family in clean clothes.
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My boys can also get on each other's nerves and fight with each other. These same boys can also be loud when they are having fun. Then there is the never-ending snacking that seems to go on all day. I am just glad that we have plenty of food in the house. My boys also like to make body noises that at times has me either laughing or saying to myself, "why me!" The other day the youngest let out a belch that was very loud and his brother said: "that was cool!" There is never a dull moment here with my three boys.
I have learned how to bake bread with whole wheat flour
Certain food items have been hard to find online and in grocery stores so it has been a challenge to bake bread. While I am one of the lucky ones who have plenty of yeast for bread making, I don't have any white flour. I was thankful for a friend who gave me plenty of whole wheat flour but I have been discovering that bread made with wheat flour does not rise that well. So I discovered 6 ingredients to help bread rise higher and it has been helping with my bread baking. I also discovered how to bake bread without yeast so I am prepared when my yeast runs out.
I have been spending more time in prayer
I have been learning that I need to pray more and expand who I pray for. I am learning to take my fears and concerns to God more. My prayer time has been more frequent and I have started to pray while I run in the morning. My night time prayers have been longer as I am praying for more people that are outside of my friends and family. I am finding that prayer helps when I am afraid of this ugly virus. Prayer is calming me when my husband has to visit places that he may be exposed to the virus. I am still being cautious and doing smart things like washing my hands and choosing to stay at home instead of going to the grocery store but for things out of my control, like my son having to work, I am giving it to God. Soon this time of self-isolation will be over and we can reconnect with friends again.
What have you learned while in self-isolation?
31 comments:
I learned that there are many benefits to a slower pace. Our chaotic life has completely slowed down and where I thought I thrived in chaos, I'm finding I'm less stressed, sleep better, don't argue with kids/spouse as much, etc. The laundry, dishes, and food though....
I am taking this time to write more, worry less, and do some planning and dreaming. I've been taking long bike rides by myself and shorter bike rides with my hubby and kids. I've been sitting on our lanai and photographing the nature in our backyard...including ducks, a bear, and some pretty birds.
I love this post, Tara! Yes, there are so many things we can do together. And yes, we do love our own personal time.
I've been learning a lot of about myself.. mostly that this isn't too far from my regular life. I stay home 99% of the time anyway.
I think you found the silver lining in this awful situation. You are using stored food, making bread and spending time with your family.
I have been learning a lot myself as well. Been staying home and spending a lot more time with family. Trying to use all the food I have at home without going to the store unless really necessary.
I have learned that my husband gets bored really easy and he'll come and bug me while I am working, since I work from home. He's in the Canadian military and they are on standby, just waiting to be called upon if needed. I find myself wishing for some time off like he is getting so I can relax more and work outside and reorganize the garage, which has been a storage spot since we moved here almost 2 years ago. I will definitely be re-evaluating how much I work. I feel like we are eating the same things over and over again. I don't want to make a trip to the store to get ingredients for a new recipe.
My life seems busier as I am having to manage the kids more and the kitchen always needs cleaning.
My husband too gets bored and he is working from home. He does not want to do any projects but has done awesome on Candy Crush
It hasn't been easy to cope with the changes for the kids. However, we've learned about the value of family time and never taking it for granted.
It really has been quite a strange time. I too have learned plenty about myself and my family.
sounds like you learned quite a bit the good, bad and best I have not had a lot of time at home I am an essential worker in the health care field and thus having to go about mostly my normal days
There is no better thing in this moment than taking care of ourselves and especially of our breathing and health. We will win!
We sure are living in a strange time. I agree that there are far too many dishes... I've been running the dishwasher twice a day some days and washing tons of pots and pans. It is a lot of work.
We did start 2020 pretty bad. We had a volcano erupting here in the Philippines last January and here comes the pandemic. No one was prepared for this global catastrophe. I sure cant wait for the day that this blows off. I'm glad though that despite the situation, you remain positive and have still found meaning & joy with the things that you do with family - for me, that is priceless and it matters a lot.
I love this post! I've learned a lot while in quarantine. One things is that I learned to distinguish whether what I want is essential in my daily life or not.
I have improved in my baking skills. Made good use of the "free time" I have. I am also learning a new language online (for free). One more thing that I have learned while in lock down is to appreciate every little blessing that I used to take for granted. Even a tiny flower bud is enough to brighten my day.
There are so many things that this pandemic is teaching us. One of these is that I learned I can be so productive at home. :) Thank you for sharing this...
I can't wait that this isolation period is over. I miss my freedom and doing things outside. I hope we'll turn to normal soon!
Self isolation has really been a unusual experince indeed! I wished I would have had my daughter with me and not a thousand miles away. Stay safe.
Love this! It's honest and lovely. I really don't like my family at home all of the time either! We definitely need space from the people we love - and that's 100% okay. I hope you're keeping well + continue to learn and slow down xx
I'm so ready for the shutdowns to end in my state, and we're working hard to get our legislators back in session and get us back to work. It's been really hard on families financially and emotionally. If there's one thing good that's come of us, I would say it's more time with family.
Good observations and learning curve. I have become very messy with my time management during this lock down period. Still trying to catch up with time.
I've been learning a lot of about myself as well in regards to my son and my family, working daily to have a better relationship with them. I stay home and work from home, so this is not really so far from my daily life.
It's fun to see how many things you can learn when you focus and slow donwn, I had no idea weed pulling is easier in spring!
I have to agree, this time has really reminded me that it's the little things that make me smile each day. Suddenly faced with limited options for what we can do, where we can go, etc., we are having to look closely to find the reasons to be happy and not get swept up in the negativity of the world today. The result? I have discovered that there are SO many little reasons to smile every day right here within my four walls!
It's great that you've learned plenty of new things even during quarantine. We can make use of our time for better things and improvement.
That's so great you have learned to do some fitness right now. I have definitely struggled with that. Some of that has had to deal with inclement weather. But I hope to do more of that exercising this week.
I have def. learned while I am all cooped up my patience is a lot thinner.
I've started learning a new language and sewing.
We are by and by observing the results of such defilement and covetousness - like war in the Mid East trying to hoard oil saves, a dangerous atmospheric devation alongside the dissolving of the polar ice tops, and overall monetary breakdown.get it now
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