Ten Positives From Self Quarantining

How is everyone doing? It has been about a month since I posted, and, like everyone, I have been adjusting to our new life. I have been gathering my thoughts, often times in the middle of the night. Most of us never anticipated living in such a horrific time.

A lot of my followers have been asking how I have been dealing with life during the Coronavirus outbreak. Like most, I am scared, angry, frustrated, anxious, overwhelmed, sleepless, hopeless, worried and restless, to name a few.

But I have also seen some good that is coming out of this. So, right now, I am choosing to write a post on ten positives so far that I have taken from this pandemic.

1. My immediate family has found a new way to spend time together. Zoom sessions are so fun! It is hysterical seeing my parents’ smiling heads in the photos, and seeing us all smiling at each other is the next best thing to being together. We have been, for the most part, focusing on happy thoughts and not making our sessions revolve around our fears. It helps that there are young children present. We have conversations that are far less pleasant over the phone, but our Zooms are focused on fun.

Why didn’t we do this before? I hope that we still do when this is over.

2. I have been exercising almost daily. Really, no more excuses! I was going to the gym three times a week, but I made excuses on most other days. Not any more! I feel so much better when I get moving each day. Even if it is 20 minutes of yoga, it still feel great!

3. I have started to get back to reading! I am embarrassed to admit it, but I spend too much time on my phone and computer, and not enough time reading. Even more embarrassing, it took me two months to sit down and read my sister Aliza’s new novel, The Lending Library. I finally did, and it was AMAZING! I literally cannot wait for you all to read it. It is coming out in July, and I hope that you all preorder it, because it is delightful!

4. I have connected and reconnected with friends. Has anyone else been pleasantly surprised who they have heard from and so happy with the conversations that they have had when they reached out? We all talk about our fears, but we also talk about how we are dealing, what the future may look like, what we are looking forward to and how our families, etc are. I personally feel like I think of many people more than they think of me, and I am always delighted when someone takes time to call or text.

I am not alone in my home. I have my partner, Victor, and four cats (including a fospice with cancer who poops everywhere). But so many people who I know are alone. Pets are wonderful, and I plan to never go my life without multiple pets. But there is nothing that can replace being hugged and kissed by another person. I hope that if you are lucky enough to be with another human of any age and size that you reach out to those who do not have one to talk to them.

5. I am so much more appreciative of my partner. At the end of last May, V decided that he wanted a career change, and he took a sabbatical. He was just starting to move forward when this pandemic hit, so that was crap timing! On a positive note, we had a lot of time to get used to being alone together. It is still very different because we are limited to where we can go and what we can do, like everyone else. But we appreciate each other and our time together in a very different way. We push each other to not sit around every day in front of the TV. If it were not for him, I would not leave the house many days. I would not get out of pjs. I would not get any hugs or kisses. I would not talk to anyone for a lot of the day every day. I would not like bring in my house nearly as much.

Before, having someone home most days with me was getting suffocating, and I was often frustrated and angry. Now, I am grateful for our time together, and I feel so lucky to have him. We argue much less, actually, which is pleasantly surprising. I feel like this horrible time has made us realize that we are so lucky to have each other, and that it not productive to argue about trivial crap.

6. A real website! I finally invested in one! It was really time! It is up, but it is a major work in progress! This is a big accomplishment for me, as I have been talking about this for years!

7. I am cooking more from the beautiful cookbooks that I have. Does anyone else have a stack or two of cookbooks that they never touch because of Yummly, Pinterest or All Recipes? Due to the scary environment at most markets, we have been planning more meals, and I have found some great recipes that will be sticking around! But I so miss the farmers markets!

8. Pet adoptions are way up! People are realizing that they need pets in their lives by both adopting and fostering. It is wonderful that this is happening, but, as a rescuer for more than 17 years, I worry that many of these animals will be returned when people go back to work and their previous schedules. I hope with all of my heart that everyone who has adopted makes it work, because adoption is forever (with a few exceptions like when a pet is endangering the health or well being of other pets in the house). But, to be honest I know that many rescues and shelters around the country relaxed their standards for adopters due to this crisis and the fact that many shelter volunteers are retired/elderly and may not be able to volunteer. Right now, I am greatly enjoying seeing long term shelter pets get adopted and seeing shelters getting cleared out. And even if people foster just while they are home temporarily, that gives potentially millions of animals a break from confinement (if you think that you feel isolated in your home, imagine being in a cage for months or for over a year). This will hopefully lead to more adoptions!!

9. We have discovered new, local beauty in our surroundings. Being that we have not been able to travel, we have taken to exploring more in our city (Quincy is huge) and in surrounding coastal towns. We found a beautiful little beach (which is temporarily closed), and we found some amazing neighborhoods and plenty of great photo worthy spots. It is also a little depressing looking at all of the giant houses that I will never be able to afford. But, in general, we are just enjoying driving around together, seeing new places and old favorites from the safety of my car.

10. Almost everyone who we know is making their health a top priority and observing social distancing. We have all read and seen the stories of those who are battling COVID-19 and, even worse, those who have lost someone. I am more terrified of the elderly and immune compromised people in my life getting sick than I am for myself. It is reassuring that people are staying home and not putting themselves at risk. Not being in our favorite places and with our favorite people really sucks, but not as much as being hospitalized or worse.

That’s all for now. I will save more for another post. But, do me a little favor: if you like this post, please comment, pin it or share it!

I hope that you, your family and your friends stay safe and healthy.

Xx, Jen