Covid-19 Quarantine March 14th through April 14th 2020
It is hard to sum up what the last few weeks have been like. While I am so grateful that we are healthy and safe, that our loved ones are healthy and safe, it has been hard. I think other people have been saying it best that many people may not realize that they are grieving. All of the plans we had for this year or at least the start of this year have been rescheduled or cancelled. Lex and I were supposed to be in France right now visiting a friend who we haven’t seen in 5 years. Our weddings and shoots are being postponed. The few weekends we were supposed to have off this year were full of fun activities we love to do and now probably won’t be able to. Especially if the shelter in place continues.
While I am grieving what 2020 was going to be like, I am grateful to have this extra time at home with Lex. To enjoy our home and read. For me to actually watch a TV show without editing and working the whole time. Very rarely do we get to just be at home and enjoy our time together. So while I don’t consider this a vacation at all, I appreciate the extra time we have been given. On the other hand, I cannot wait for the day where a quiet day at home involves getting coffee/tea from our favorite coffee shop in the morning. Going out to eat for lunch AT a restaurant and exploring Oak Brook Shopping Center or a cute downtown. Where art shows can happen in person and we get to photograph our clients.
I look forward to getting back to a little bit of what there was before but also learning and adapting. Because our normal clearly wasn’t working and I think there is always room for improvement.
On days where we have been motivated to do things, Lex and I have been having fun with some weird self portraits! We have been reading a TON of books and trying to cook a few fun meals while still supporting local businesses and ordering take out when we can. I am also continuing to take photos of everything because while this is all so hard I think we will want this documentation in 20 or 30 years when we talk about it with our loved ones. On days where we struggle, we have really slow mornings and take a lot of breaks looking out the window. We watch more TV than I would like and leave the house a mess.
I know this isn’t permanent and I hope you do too. I also hope that you know that it is okay to not be okay. If all you can muster in a day is moving from your bed to the couch then consider that a win. Everyone is handling this differently. Not everyone has the ability right now to learn a new skill or organize their entire home. Honestly we have had a mix of days where we don’t get much done and days where we do. And that is OKAY! I have seen so many hurtful and damaging posts that say if you don’t come out of quarantine with a new skill or having accomplished anything, you never lacked time, you lacked discipline. That is a load of shit to put it plainly. Lets be supportive of our fellow human beings and realize that not everyone can learn a new skill, gain more knowledge, or start a new business during this time. We are all grieving and deserve a little bit of grace right now.
Some things I have found that help us are having a routine. Getting up, getting ready and starting our day with a to do list so we can cross a few things off. Helps you feel accomplished. Setting deadlines for things. But also taking time to do something fun like read or craft. We try to wait until the late afternoon or evening to get sucked into our current Netflix binge. Not everyday is perfect but like I said it helps!
