Thankful 2020: Pandemic Perspective

We all know that 2020 is basically going to go down in history as the COVID year, although I think it's critical for it to be remembered for much more than that and I hope that the current events of 2020 help us move towards assessment, reflection and positive change.  The pandemic itself has brought so many challenges, ups and downs, and yet I am so thankful for many of the opportunities that it has presented as well.  

This past  Monday, October 10th, was our Canadian Thanksgiving.  It's was a time to give thanks.  To reflect on the things we do have and the things that are within our control.  Currently our pandemic situation here in Saskatchewan is pretty good.  We are reopped, with many safety measures and protocols.  We can gather up to 15  people, it was 30 when I initially wrote this but a spike in cases has our government rolling that number back as an extra precaution, and our schools have reopened.    We are holding steady and our hospitals are no overran by people needing support, at least not for COVID.  So lets take  a peek at what I have to be thankful for and more importantly what are some of the positives that the pandemic has bestowed on our family.

1.  The health of our family.  Knock on wood we have all be able to continue to be healthy, in both my immediate household, as well as my parents, in-laws, grandmothers and extended family.  We have a couple of extremely elderly people, my grandmothers, two immunocompromised people (my dad and daughter), but we are all happy and healthy.  Having family at our fingertips and knowing we are close by anything goes wrong is extremely beneficial when we went into the  initially lock down.  I can't imagine if our family was far away and things weren't going well.  I am so truly sorry if you are in that situation.

2.  Our jobs and work -life balance.  We were so lucky to be able to do our jobs from home and not struggle finically.  I can't tell you how thankful I was that we would continue to be able to pay all of our bills and we wouldn't be needing support from the government.  Thankfully our government was able to support many that didn't have that luxury and I am also thankful for that.  

The other thing my eyes were opened to was my level of  stress and maybe a little bit unsatisfied.  There I said it.  I love my job but I was not finding a healthy balance to maintain the work, with all the other things that help define me.  A healthy and active lifestyle.  A mom and wife that's engaged and not just going through the motions.  A creative individual.  A woman who likes learning new things.  I found her again and I am managing work-life a lot better this fall then I did last year.  Fingers crossed I don't need another pandemic to keep me balanced.

3.  Our cabin.  If you follow me on IG you know that I always love getting away to my happy place at the lake.  It's calming and restorative for me.  Enjoying the natural beauty of the lake, forests and animals that are native to the area, all fill my soul with pure joy and calmness.  At the hardest time we were able to escape our home walls to some other, slightly different walls, while staying healthy and safe.  The summer there was more or less the same as it always had been as our bubble included our neighbors and we were able to be outside 95% of our time there.  Due to few interactions with people, we were able to host our good friends and family for a weekend here or there.  I suspect that this year we will be gong there a lot more throughout the winter months as we will not have many engagements and travel plans. 

4.  Remodeling.  When you are stuck at home what do you do with all that time?!?  Well, you finally tackle projects that have been nagging at you but you

 a) didn't have time 

 b) didn't have money. 

 Well we all of a sudden had both.  Our two main trips were cancelled and we were stuck at home.  We finally tackled our 1979 basement with all the carpet and decor and created a beautiful family space and gym space that we have been using non-stop!!!  

5.  Reconnecting.  I think it goes without saying that many people had to really reconnect during this time with the people they live with.  We spent a lot of time together!  Although this was both one of the most challenging things, it also brought us together in a way that I didn't think was possible, especially at the beginning.  We started doing a lot more family walks.  We were walking daily as a family, sometimes a few times a day.  I loved that.  We also relayed on each other for entertainment, meaning we were watching TV shows together, working out together, cooking together, and playing games.  I loved that.   I wish I could hold on to it forever, but I do find we've slipped into our old habits  and the one thing I 'll be honest we are struggling with as parents is how much out children  have relied on technology and how much they use their devices.  I'd love some perspective from parents of TEENS on this.  HELP!!!!

6.  Bank account.  Well this is a big one.  For the first time ever, we have a descent cushion.  I know you are supposed to have 3 months worth of living expenses saved but that hasn't been our reality.  We have a really good financial track record and have never had debt on our credit cards or anything, as we generally save and pay for things.  We also like to have some savings but also to have experiences and trips as a family.  Well since our two major family trips were cancelled, we ended up saving that money and honestly now I am pretty keen on not going below a certain savings amount again.  It's a nice little cushion for us to have in case of an emergency.  We have continued to save for future trips and when it's safe we have enough to do that.   Until then we will be staying close to home and reminding ourselves that although it's not always as exciting, the open space and air is what has helped keep our little part of the world relatively safe.

What are some of the pandemic positives in your life?