10 Good Things About the COVID-19 Quarantine
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Social Distancing: 2 Months In
We got to see an actual human being today. We even waved and said, “hello.”
It was just the garbage man, but still.
After a couple of cold, rainy days, it started to warm up, so the girls and I headed outside for a little while this morning to pick dandelions. The garbage truck pulled up, and of course the girls had to stop and watch.
(I tried to get them to stop staring, but then I realized there’s actually nothing wrong with them watching the guy do his job.)
He waved and called out to have a good day, and I returned the sentiment, then we found some sidewalk chalk and played hopscotch for a bit.
As I mentioned in my social distancing update last month, Adjusting to a New “Stay at Home” Life, we had just moved into our new house when everything started getting crazy.
Dan has still been going to work (he works in the food industry) but because he is in contact with hundreds of people every day, we have a higher risk of contracting COVID. (A little off topic, but there’s a chance we had it a few months ago; we all got sick with what we assumed was the flu and it was AWFUL.)
Anyway…
When Dan and I were talking the other day, we realized that we will probably be isolated from everyone all summer. All SUMMER, guys. It’s a depressing thought.
It’s been hard missing out on all the things we were supposed to attend this spring, but I find it harder to complain. We have it pretty good. The girls have a lot of room to run around outside, so that will help.
In an effort to avoid feeling sorry for myself, I wanted to come up with a list of ten good things that have happened during social isolation (in no particular order).
10 Good Things About the COVID-19 Quarantine
1. Getting settled into our new house.
For us, this was actually a pretty good time to hole up at home. We have had plenty of time to get unpacked and organized — although, it took longer than it should have, and we’re still not completely done.
Just last week, I finally got around to organizing the bathroom (and we’ve been here for two months).
Organizing is exhausting! Don’t get me wrong; I love when everything is tidy, but moving into a new house is hard work. Quarantine certainly made the process go a little more quickly, though.
2. Potty training.
Being stuck at home is the perfect time to potty train (prepare yourself for lots of potty training posts in the future!). We’ve been in the process for a couple years, but I don’t believe in forcing it.
While waiting for Kenna to decide she’s ready, we’ve been talking about starting to wear undies full time “after we move into our new house”. I think this helped prepare her.
Anyway, as soon as we got here, she wanted to use the potty. It wasn’t long before she wanted to ditch the pull-ups as night. I wasn’t so sure, but she has done incredibly well overnight. It’s been nice not having to worry about accidents while out and about, though!
3. Lots of blogging.
Lots and lots of blogging. After realizing that I started this blog almost two years ago, and still only had about 50-60 published posts, I’ve been working hard to remedy that.
Now, I spend a LOT of time writing each post. I can really only write one post a day, and that’s after putting everything else on the back burner.
(Don’t worry, I make sure my kids are fed and cared for!) But I have been publishing about four new posts per week since the beginning of April. I think this one will put me right around 80.
Here are a few of my latest posts:
Outdoor Family Activities to Enjoy This Summer
9 Reasons to Use an Ultrasonic Diffuser for Essential Oils
How to Host the Perfect Bonfire Party This Summer
I’m hoping to get it up to 100, then maybe ease back a bit to around two posts per week. But there is no way I could have gotten this much done before quarantine, despite spending a lot of time at home back then.
4. Spending less money on gas.
We are saving a LOT of money on gas. Before we moved, Dan used to commute almost three hours daily, and now it’s down to just over an hour. On top of that, gas prices have gone down, and I’m hardly driving my van anywhere.
Unfortunately, all that money and then some is now going toward our mortgage. 🙁 But it’s still a better investment than burning it on fuel.
5. Lots of family time.
Actually, I’m not really spending any more time with my kids now than I used to, because I used to spend almost all day every day with them pre-quarantine, too.
But with the shorter commute, we do see Dan a lot more. And of course, no social obligations means we spend a lot of time with just each other.
It can make us all a little crazy at times, but I have to keep in mind that, one day, I will long to spend more time with my kids. So for now, I’ll treasure the time we have together, no matter how hard it gets.
6. The girls are learning a lot.
Just in the last two months, both of the girls have grown and learned a ton — or, at least, we’ve noticed it a lot more lately.
At not even 4 years old, Kenna is teaching herself to recognize and write all the letters, and she can even spell a few names. At 17 months old, Raelyn was counting to ten, and she loves to sing.
Both of the girls can sing “Let It Go” (Raelyn jumps in with the words she knows) and Kenna know most of the songs from Frozen and Frozen II. Raelyn can name a LOT of different animals, and she repeats everything we say.
I’m sure they would have learned these things regardless of quarantine, but it gives us an opportunity to pay more attention to these things.
7. New appreciation for the old “normal”.
It’s not like we got out a lot before, but now we don’t even have the option. It really makes us appreciate normal, everyday things like being able to visit family, give hugs, or the occasional dinner out.
8. A little bit of reading.
A lot of people have used this time to learn something new, take up a hobby, or simply spend more time relaxing with a good book. I’ll occasionally download an ebook from the CloudLibrary and read in bed, or listen to podcasts in the morning.
One day, we will be able to get back to our lives again. But in the meantime, quarantine is a good time to grow our minds or take some time for self-care.
9. Fewer trips to the store.
Okay, so this isn’t 100% true. Before we moved, I hardly went shopping because we ordered groceries for delivery, and I rarely set foot in a store unless we needed something other than food. But now we don’t have the option for delivery, so I have to do my own grocery shopping.
Since I’d rather go shopping as little as possible, the weekly shopping is now bi-weekly, and I suspect a lot of you go to the store less than before as well. Quarantine also forced me to start meal planning again and to be more strategic with my shopping, so it’s not all bad.
10. More homemade meals.
Before quarantine, we went out to eat about once a week. Now, we eat every meal at home.
Honestly, I don’t really miss eating out, but I’m sure we’ll start getting takeout at some point. (Dan has been bringing home a lot of restaurant gift cards from work; I’m guessing they are buying them for the employees to help support local businesses.)
Read more:
Pros & Cons of the Solo Stove Bonfire (and is it really smokeless?)
Diffusing Essential Oils for a Baby With a Cold and Congestion
Custom Fire Pit Ideas for Your Outdoor Living Space
Adorable pictures and yes, looking at your list, there a lot of things that have developed or been blessings. I notice that my grocery budget is less….I can’t just run to the store to pick up something without standing in line, so I try to organize more. And lots of blogging…..its been good. Thanks.
Thank you, Beth!
Nice post. It’s always good to find the positive in things. And kudos to you with writing everyday to increase your blog posts. I’ll get there one day lol
Lol! It’s not easy, and I’m getting a little burned out. But I’m getting so close to my goal, and once I reach it I’ll ease up a little bit.
It’s always great to seek the bright side of things! It is really the only way for me to stay sane 🙂
Agreed, it’s the only way to get through this without going crazy.
Great job pushing out that many posts! I’m home with our three month old but I just can’t seem to get much done during the day. Hopefully she will be able to entertain herself for a little while pretty soon. 😊
That age makes it hard to get anything done. It’s not easy still, and I won’t be able to keep this up for long, because I have a lot of house projects to work on. But it definitely helps when the kids are able to entertain themselves for a few minutes at a time!
I couldn’t agree more. I love that my kids are around more, and home cooking, and questioning the business of all we were doing before this all started. The connection with the kids is just the best part!
Absolutely! We have to look at the bright side.
It is a great blog post – pointing out the positive. I am still struggling to do so. I have been more consistent on my blog, but writing has been difficult for me because my mind is all over the place!
I totally get it. This has been hard on all of us!
I need to put together my own good things list, but it’s going to look different than yours yet eerily similar. We don’t have kids living at home, but because of my daycare, we do get to see one of our grandkids every day. I’ll start with that!
That’s definitely a plus to the quarantine!
This was a good read, its been a tough go!
I agree with that sentiment!
I feel you! I”ve been looking at the bright sides of things- like zoom meetings with faraway friends!
That’s the nice thing about living in today’s world…even though we can’t be together physically, we can still see everyone via zoom!
Looking at the positive side of things always brings the positive outcome! Great post!
Thank you Holly!
I agree even though living in quarantine is different, we have definitely had the time to do so many other things that are beneficial to us!
True, it has certainly been a different experience!
I’m enjoying spending more time with my kiddos. I don’t enjoy the homeschooling and not having any time whatsoever to myself (cue pounding in the door as soon as I get in the showers – EVERY DARN TIME). But I was a home-body before (when we are not travelling of course), so now I have added excuses to remain a home-body!!
I have to agree with you…it’s kind of nice to have an excuse to stay at home, even though I do miss seeing our family and friends.
I wish I had spent more time blogging. I had a lot of FB distractions I allowed to take over. Nevertheless, I agree that there has been blessings. Ones I already knew I had and now cherish more than ever!
Facebook can certainly be distracting!
All true for us as well, except potty training we are past that phase!
It’s definitely not my favorite part of parenting, but at least it’s going relatively well. 🙂
Your girls are so cute! I agree, there are lots of positive things that have come out of this quarantine time.
That’s a lot of blog posts! Good job!
Thank you Debbie!
Wonderful post! Positivity is an excellent thing ! Quality family time is always great.
Thank you, Lisa!
We definitely enjoyed spending less on gas also!
Saving money is always a good thing!
I’ve been thankful for a lot of the things you mentioned. Since we don’t have any extra activities going on at night, we’ve been able to spend more time together as a family. We’ve been saving a ton of money on gas. I think my favorite thing is that my kids have started planning meals and helping make them, which is something we didn’t have a lot of time for before.
That’s so cool! I love that your kids are planning meals and helping make them.
Glad you are looking at the silver lining. I think we will all come out with a little different perspective
It’s certainly eye-opening. It’s not easy, but looking at the silver lining is the best way to get through this.
These are some really great advantages for sure! Looking for the positive is a really helpful trait! Looks like you guys are doing well. =)
We are, and I hope you are too!
Great job finding the positives in all of this! Your girls will learn so much just from watching how you’ve adapted. High five!
Thank you, Kendra!
I relate to a lot of these. It has been nice to use less gas and write more! There is a new appreciation that comes with something as novel and unexpected as this. The ability to share a hug with someone should never be disregarded again!
I absolutely agree — I’m glad I can at least hug my husband and daughters still.
Great Post! I wrote a similar post. It’s great to find positive things that have happened being stuck at home! Thanks for sharing!
Hey Cathy! I agree, and I just read your post last night. 🙂
We have been enjoying lots of these aspects of staying home too! We were actually starting to work from home anyway about 2 weeks before everything happened, but now its like extreme work from home because we can’t go out to a coffee shop or library to do work when we want to get out of those. We’ve enjoyed spending time together and doing things we never had time for before though.
It’s definitely a bummer not being able to get out and grab a coffee and socialize, but at least there are some positives that have come out of this, too.
This quarantine is really going to change our lives for the foreseeable future. I’m glad you are able to spread out at your new place and watch your girls grow.
It was a huge blessing that this didn’t happen before we had a chance to move! We would have been okay staying where we were before, but we are so much happier with all the extra space.
I love it when people look at the bright side instead of focusing on the negative! Great read.
Thank you Michele!
I enjoyed your post. Things really didn’t change much for me as I work at Walmart full time. I was off for about 18 days with bronchitis and it was nice to write more blog post then. Now it’s a struggle to get one a week done.
Bronchitis is no fun! Hope you recovered fully. I hear ya though, it’s such a struggle to write when you’re working full time.
I am trying to look at the positive as well – and I have saved TONS on gas. Still leaving the house for work and shopping but still down a lot.
Saving money is definitely a positive that has come out of staying home more!
Wow! My list is VERY similar to yours! lol. We moved to our current apartment in November and I’m still not fully unpacked but it’s getting better! I also potty trained one child. One more to go! And blogging, it’s so nice to be blogging again. 🙂 I love that this time is getting my kids cooking more and trying out some of my most favorite recipes that I haven’t made in years! When we take the time to reflect on the good, we CAN find good everywhere and anytime. Great post! 🙂
I agree. It’s so easy to feel sorry for ourselves when things get tough, but finding the good in a hard situation can make it a little bit easier.
There are many positives coming out of this experience. We’ve gotten so many “someday” projects done. I love how my backyard looks this year!
That’s awesome! I just planted a ton of flowers yesterday, which feels great. It’s nice to be able to do things like that!
I love your list! And, I have 3 little ones at home too so I resonate so well with what you’ve mentioned. I love not spending as much money on gas, fewer random trips to the store and all home-cooked meals. It’s been a really strange blessing.
I agree. Despite being somewhat difficult at times, it’s been a strange blessing indeed. 🙂