I realize the title of this post is a bit outrageous, but before you come at me, hear me out …
I know quarantine sucked. I wrote a six-part series called My Quarantined Life (reread it here, here, here, here, here, and here) plus two other early COVID pieces (reread those here and here) back in 2020 when the pandemic first began and we were all in lockdown. I probably could have kept it going longer, but I stopped after two months because I felt like I was beating a dead horse. I mean, how many times can you post about losing track of the days or being annoyed that all your people are home all the damn time?!
BUT …
If I’m being honest, there were some good aspects to the lockdown that I wish I could get back. Like the lack of people. No crowds and not having to socialize was heaven for me. A true quarantine highlight. #introvertlife #sorrynotsorry. But also, I miss
- midday walks with my hubby to visit the neighborhood alpaca (who, btw, I thought were llamas and I called Llama Lauren and Llama Stan, since they were white and brown like us)
- help around the house without being asked/told (during lockdown, my husband frequently took it upon himself to do the laundry and even mop the floors — probably because we were all germaphobes back then. But hey, whatever it takes to get unsolicited help, I’m here for it)
- people respecting my personal space (when we thought everyone had cooties, people kept there distance; it was awesome)
- not having to drive anyone anywhere … ever (I saved money on gas and didn’t have my work day interrupted running back and forth to school — I miss that)
- sleeping in on the regular (because time was a social construct that didn’t matter anymore; days and nights blended and we had no where to go anyway)
- never having to apply makeup or worry about food in my teeth (the one good part to wearing a mask)
I don’t mean to sound glib about the pandemic. It was horrible. People suffered. People died.
But quarantine taught me to pivot — or bob and weave, as @thesoftestbunny_ says.
When the gym closed (my favorite place), I loaded up on equipment and build a decent gym in my unfinished basement. It’s not pretty, but it gets the job done and now I don’t have to deal with people. Plus, I found @onepelaton and it’s been my new obsession.
When my husband had to work from home and my kids had to school from home (and the noise was just too much for me to handle), we moved furniture around and created new office space for them. Problem solved (because you know I wasn’t giving up my office!).
When my therapist had to close her doors, I tried teletherapy. Ultimately, I decided it wasn’t for me (EMDR isn’t as effective over Zoom), but I found other channels and methods to get me through temporarily. I did the best I could and I’m proud of that.
And when the stores ran out of toilet paper, we installed bidets. I always wanted one and now we have two. Win-win!
So when you remove the death and destruction from the equation, quarantine really wasn’t all that bad. It made me be more flexible and taught me to appreciate what I have. The slower pace of life, the time with family, big house … all were blessings I was taking for granted. Those are the things I miss about quarantine. Not the fear and anxiety, but the perspective … and the extra help around the house.
-LJDT
