“Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans.”
~ Allen Saunders, 1957
Have you been able to enjoy your quarantine time? It’s certainly no vacation, but since the vast majority of us aren’t sick, we can choose to make the best of our time sheltering at home.
The challenge is that we’re inundated with pandemic statistics, grim projections, and massive economic uncertainty, plus the complete upending of our normal routines, schedules, and workdays.
For me, it’s all too easy to spend my time consuming the news, trying to make sense of the outbreak, the safety guidelines, and all the confusing contradictions. And then everyday feels like a stressful waiting period.
Instead I have to remind myself that we’re not just biding our time. I love that well-known quote by Allen Saunders, because it reminds me to be present and to accept my life as it is right now. For me, that is accepting that my family is home all day, every day, and that my responsibilities have changed. And no, I haven’t written a fabulous screenplay or learned to play a musical instrument. Nor have I been able to repaint the kids’ bedrooms or accomplish any of the projects I had planned for March and April.
But…spring still arrived as beautiful as ever. And being home, we’ve witnessed the wondrous transformation of winter to spring in my yard more closely than any other year. This week, I had breakfast on the patio in the sunshine, on a Wednesday with my son and daughter. I realized that under normal circumstances, the rush-rush morning routine to get them on the bus to school would not permit such a luxury.
There are signs that the social restrictions for Covid-19 will begin to gradually recede and public life will restart soon. With that, we’ll return to the hustle of our busy lives. So until then, I try to focus on what’s good at home right now and enjoy it.
-Beth Gilbert-Crowell