Social Distancing Silver Lining

In this time of coronavirus, I’m choosing to focus on some personal benefits to my family outside of health precautions for both us and the general public. Here are some once-neglected areas of my life happy to have my attention.

Kitchen. Face it, your pantry and freezer has food you typically overlook. The frozen vegetables you bought when you read frozen was healthier than canned but your needy infant left you too tired to cook the fresh stuff. The dried beans you accumulated when you got the pressure cooker for Christmas. The coconut milk, rice noodles, soybeans, and spices you bought when you were on that Asian food kick that lasted as long as the grocery store visit. That one flavor of soup you don't particularly love but your significant other thinks you do so there's 4 cans of it on the shelf. You know what I'm talking about: the food you see when you say "we have nothing to eat; let's go out!" Now is the time to eat that food!

Wallet. Eating every meal at home. Not spending money on tolls and gas from commuting to the office. Not online shopping (who would deliver it and who would see me in the cute outfit?). Absolutely no reason to swipe my credit card or engage my Apple Pay unless necessary. I am forced to do what my spoiled, working self has resisted - not spend money on purchases I don’t really need. It’s actually refreshing to not waste mental space trying to talk myself out of the Banana Republic sale.

Home Improvement. To be honest, neither me nor my husband prioritize home repairs or projects on the weekends over spending time with the kids (or catching up on a Netflix series). We've lived in our house for almost two years and have yet to finish hanging portraits on the walls or shelves in the laundry room. We have improvement ideas but no ambition, easily swayed to ditch good intentions for a family play date with close friends. Now that we are forced to stare at blank walls and disogranized closets, we've made an effort to knock out some projects and purge the excess.

Exercise. I have a small stockpile of gym equipment and yoga videos for those moments when I’m convinced I’ll become a person who values muscle definition over gourmet cheese. I love going for long walks and short runs, activities that have become infrequent under the guise of “long day at work.” My young children need to exert their energy. I need to ensure that when I rejoin society my ass isn't flattened from the couch cushions. Win-win.

Books. This silver lining has not been a hard sell for me. I love reading. I choose books over people all the time. But my friends and husband put limits on how often I'm allowed to hermit away. Now everyone is a hermit. No one is hosting supper club. No bars are open to catch a drink with a friend after work. The extended family has put the kibosh on all celebratory activities. I'm not obligated to take my children out on play dates to ensure they do not end up with my social inhibitions. My husband is relieved when I can bury my nose in a book so he can get a break from the home improvement projects.

Me. If you've yet to catch on, I'm big on alone time. However, two hours commuting to and from the office each day in bumper-to-bumper traffic gives me plenty of mental space to ruminate a writing topic but does not necessarily afford me time to actually write. It's been nice to work-from-home, get space to invest in my mental and physical well-being, simultaneously not missing a beat on family time.

Find ways to make the shut-in personal and applicable for you and yours!