All of it hasn’t been terrible. I certainly don’t intend to minimize the suffering, sadness, stress, and mental health concerns that have manifested and exploded as a result of the pandemic, because all of those things are just God awful. What I mean is that on my best days, I am able to find silver linings. On days when the sun is shining and the birds are singing (like today!), I am reminded that there is life after all this and outside of all of this. It’s easy to forget when I spend any length of time inside my head.
I’m devoting today’s blog post to pandemic positives–the simple things in life I’ve found a way to connect to as a result of my current circumstances. And of course as always I want to hear from you. Have you discovered some things about yourself or picked up a new hobby because of where you are today? Let me know in the comments!
- I learned how to fill in my brows. I actually just picked up some cheap drugstore makeup to play around with. I very rarely wear any (and really, where the hell am I going lol) but I’ve certainly watched enough YouTube videos to make me an expert :p
- I found out which local restaurants have the best takeout
- That some small shops near us have FaceTime shopping so you can see what’s in store without ever having to leave the comfort of home. I mean, how friggin’ cool is that? I also love that despite the crummy circumstances, businesses are becoming inventive in order to stay afloat. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. At least I think that’s what they say. Did I just royally screw that expression up? Whatever. Let’s move on
- Figured out how to cook some pretty kick ass dinners and learned some foolproof (and total flop) banana bread recipes. I even made a jalapeño cornbread! And yes, I made the TikTok pasta. Twice 🙂
- That in a pinch Bryan can cut my hair (I didn’t say he can cut it well but it’s a last minute option lol)
- That this old dog can learn new tricks. Lately I’ve been testing out the clubhouse app. It’s helping me stay up to date with all the constant algorithm changes on Instagram and hip new trends. As we all know, social media is constantly evolving and I need to stay on top of it for the work that I do
- That the best forms of entertainment are often the simplest <3 Like tummy time with these two
That last photo is fantastic! I think it’s good to focus on the positives. It’s definitely good for your mental health. I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time cuddling with my cat, which is always a plus. He’s made things a lot easier for me with Covid, etc.
-Lauren
Aww… that last picture is a killer! And, honestly, I’ll eat anything with jalapeno in it.
I am definitely someone who looks for silver-linings and I love that you found some to in 2020. < 3
In the beginning, I even cut Des’ hair once! Not since. I have learned I can go a long time with my gray roots and unruly eyebrows. I learned that I really love having built in excuses for not seeing people, which means I must have been miserable sometimes in the past. And I learned that I’m a bit agoraphobic and it will be hard to get back to more social living. But I really really want to. Maybe now I’ll learn to set healthy limits.