What I have learned during the COVID-19 Pandemic:
- My natural hair color.
- I had friends say to me, “I had no idea your hair was that dark.” I simply replied, “Me neither.”
- Being alone is wonderful; isolation is not.
- I found the time to be quiet and journal and organize was truly a gift. The isolation that I felt at times was horrible and unsettling.
- I can actually cook!
- I have never ever used my dishwasher so much! I have never cooked so many meals!
- Technology is wonderful!
- Technology has kept us all connected in times when we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to “see” each other. I enjoyed Zoom Happy Hour and FaceTime with friends and family. I enjoyed long chats on the phone with people I had not really connected with in months.
- Now that things are opening up, we need to be careful when we are able to physically connect that we don’t let technology get in the way of that time together.
- Nature is healing.
- The warmer weather in the spring and the cooler weather in the fall was so welcomed to allow for time to be outside….in the fresh air.
- It is weird to go for months without normal shoes on.
- House shoes do not really count. And can it be good for your feet to always be in house shoes? Heels have been a tough transition.
- Packing is exciting.
- Packing is exciting even if you are packing for a tent camping experience.
- Never take the ability to travel for granted!
- Books are my companions.
- While quarantining alone, I found companionship in the many many books I have read…over 50 since the beginning of 2020.
- Good neighbors are a gift from God.
- I have the best neighbors. We checked in on each other and enjoyed distancing patio fun!
- It is ok not to understand or even agree with another person’s decisions – that does not mean you cannot remain.
- I really struggled during COVID and was very serious about social distancing, but everyone in my circle was not like me. I really learned to appreciate someone else’s struggle even when it didn’t align with my own. And those individuals in my life who respected my decisions and honored allll of my anxiety – well, I am thankful for those people.
We have all learned something during COVID-19. As COVID-19 lingered on and on, the learnings continued.
We have learned about ourselves. We have learned about others. We have learned from our leaders….medical and otherwise. We have made choices about what we believe and who we believe.
My hope is that we continue to learn and take this as an opportunity for growth. I also pray that we give ourselves and each other a break…..extend some grace. Sleep in as you need to sleep in, frantically work out if that soothes your soul. Do whatever is best for you and if that means you didn’t learn another language during this COVID nightmare, then so be it!
As we return to normalcy and the masks are off, what do you want to remain the same and what have you really missed? Experiences as big as COVID are meant to teach us something. We are meant to take something away from this and be different. And that something is not the same for everyone. We all started at different places in Spring of 2020, so we cannot expect for all of us to share all the things ……all the feelings. I hope you found some peace amidst it all….a quiet place you will return to time and again…..an appreciation for your relationships…..for physical touch….and simply for seeing the faces behind the masks once again.
