What I'm Thankful For // Corona Virus Pandemic Edition
It was on March 12th, 2020 when the company I work for issued a WFH policy due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, it’s been over a month of staying at home and only going out to get fresh air and going to the grocery store for sustenance, both that I consider treats since it’s the only times I can ever “see the world”.
I’ve said the line, “What a strange and chaotic time we live in,” more times in a day than I ever thought I would and it’s odd to not go out on the weekends to hang out with friends or see the Las Vegas strip bard-boned with not a tourist in sight. Social distancing is a phrase I’ve heard more times in my life than I ever have and I’ve been more in-tune with the news, something I’ve loathed prior to this.
When the pandemic started in February, I was in the mindset of wanting to work from home versus being mandated to work from home. At first, I was thrilled to have the time to sleep in, walk from my bed to my dining room table and sign in for work. But once the pandemic took another drastic turn (Side Note: I can’t remember what number of drastic turns had already taken place at that point since surprise news greeted us every day), and I saw friends getting laid off struggling with providing for their families, or having to go out into the front lines with the hope they wouldn’t get infected, it hit me how much I underestimated the enormity of the situation. It wasn’t due to naivety as I understood then and I understand now how scary it is to get infected. It was due to the fact that after living in a world with SARS, swine flu, and just the regular flu where thousands of people died, I had hopes that this too would affect few and then the chaos would pass.
I don’t say that dismissively, I say this as we’ve had viruses and infection as a part of our lives for years and years and we’ve collectively gone through those past seasons together as communities with clear instructions on how to avoid getting infected. Then our lives go on. This time, life is going on, but with rules that prohibit us from simply allowing our lives to just go on the way we are used to. This time, the world goes on with 159,033 less people living & breathing. This time, it’s different. What a strange and chaotic time we live in….
As I sit here on day 41 of quarantine, I take this all in. I have the tendency to go dark, so I’ve taken this time to really take a step back, peel through the layers of thoughts in my head influenced by mass media, stories of loved ones passing or people on the brink of losing everything. I quietly examine my life and truth be told, I am blessed and I am doing fine.
So I wanted to write this list of things I’m thankful for even during this pandemic and share the result of my practice with all of you, whether you’re doing the same thing or whether you are struggling with this very thing.
I am thankful to be alive and healthy.
The fact that I can wake up and breathe without any sickness in my body is such a blessing, especially since there are people right now suffering from this killing virus.
I am thankful to still be working and that my husband is too.
I work for a business that has high contact with people face-to-face. With that said, most of our business has shut down. I was wondering how our parent company was going to handle the budget during this time and they ended up laying off a little more than 50% of the company. I was one of the lucky few that is standing with a job. My husband is also still working remotely and with our combined incomes, we are financially stable. I am grateful since I know many who have lost their jobs and are struggling with providing for their families during this time.
I am thankful to have time for myself and focus on self-care.
With an increased amount of time at home, I am happy to go back to a workout schedule that I was struggling to find before the pandemic. Although I realize I will need to ensure this schedule is consistent post-coronavirus, I am at least able to form a good habit now and slowly work my way to fitting it into my “normal” routine in the future (whatever normal means anyway). Also, I’ve been sleeping more, choosing better foods to eat (since grocery store runs mainly consist of us getting healthier foods), and loving the skin I’m in. I’m learning to re-focus on myself and take care of me during this time.
I am thankful to have technology as a way to connect with my loved ones.
I already liked social media and keeping in touch with loved ones via text/phone call, but I appreciate them even more since it’s the only way I can keep in touch with them. I am happy that there is a way to see what everyone is up to and stay connected. Words and pictures matter even more to me during these times.
I am thankful to walk out of a grocery store or gas station un-infected.
With high traffic areas like the grocery store and gas station, I worry about the ways my husband and I could possibly get infected. Although we do our due diligence of wearing a mask and gloves while we’re out, this virus has scary ways of still infecting others.
Practicing this mindfulness has brought me back to keeping level-headed and reminding me of what really is versus the scary what-if scenarios that play in head time and time again.
Wishing you all are safe and healthy during this time!
Xo