By Jennifer Halfon
Where do I begin? The days of being stuck at home all blend together, one after the other. Plus, a lot is going on lately. People don’t agree on much, but I think the one thing we can all agree to is that no one expected these crazy, uncertain times. However, as upset as many of us have been, I came to realize that I found some peace within this chaos; a silver lining if you will. During my time at home, when we quarantined for two months and my place of business was temporarily closed, I grew to appreciate the things that I had taken for granted. Minus the financial aspect, I enjoyed being home. It rekindled my love of cooking and reading books. I rested my hands for the first time in 30 years. Hands, my tools, that had professionally beautified the fingers of my fabulous clients and friends for decades.
My family and I shared real family time. Our days and nights together became family game time, family movie time, and family mealtime, once or even twice a day. Everyone came out of their rooms, put down their cell phones, and stopped surfing the internet on their computers. We enjoyed each other‘s company, actually spoke to one another, and laughed! My kids are basically grown, 16, and 21, so I cherish the time we spent together as I do not know when that will happen again.
Phase 1 and 2 mean I have been back to work for about a month. The fantastic thing is that all of those family time things have stuck. We still have family meals, watch movies, and play games. Our family realized how much we enjoyed each other’s company. I saw my kids more than ever. These were things that we haven’t done since they were younger because no one was on the same schedule as they grew. Before COVID19, we got to the point where we would all isolate by sitting in the same house in different rooms. I think a lot of us have fallen into that trap in past years. You could see it if you went out to eat in a restaurant. No one was talking at the table, just on their phones, texting, playing games, and silently eating.
During the shelter in place, I got my family back.
Don’t get me wrong; being cooped up at home was a roller coaster of emotions. There were anxiety and depression mingled with frustration and fear about how we, as a family, were going to manage financially. What if we got sick, and what did the future hold? Many of us who couldn’t work or lost their job altogether, probably felt the same way. From my personal perspective, there were so many positives that materialized that the financial aspect faded away. Talking to my children, seeing their smiling faces, and hearing them laugh was worth so much more.
My family remains healthy. I know quite a few who did not, and I hope they recover. It seems hard to believe that anyone could find good in what’s been happening, but if you think hard enough, I’m sure you will find some things that you appreciate a little more than you did before.