As We Count Down The Days, Make Today Count

There are so many things that have come to an end because of social distancing and Covid-19.  Many of us are no longer going to work, attending school, driving to practices, shopping at the mall or visiting with family and friends.  All of these things signal an end to how we were living our lives prior to the pandemic.  How long we will continue like this and what will remain fundamentally altered forever is outside of our ability to know.  So much is uncertain.

But one certainty, if I'm being totally honest here, is that much of what has come to an end has made me sad; especially spending time with my family and friends.  There is a certain longing for the way things used to be.  There is a desire to reconnect with those who I was once in constant contact with in my normal day to day life.  And yet, as these weeks at home turn into months, the strangeness of being isolated at home is starting to feel like a new normal and a strange new calm is washing over me.

At first I wasn't fully understanding what was happening to me.  Then, as I was reading Sarah Dessen's Saint Anything, I had a realization thanks to the main character Sydney.  It is when Sydney states, “For most of us, once something was busted, it was game over. I would have loved to know how it felt, just once, to have something fall apart and see options instead of endings.”

Because of Covid-19 the life we once knew has come to a swift ending.  Perhaps this end is not forever, but at least it is ended for time time being.  But, if you're like me, instead of seeing an ending as being "game over", these times of self isolation and social distancing that we are now facing are actually giving us so many options.  

- Instead of running the kids off to skating practice several times a week I'm going for regular bike rides with my children in the newly quiet street of our neighborhood.

- Instead of frantically trying to fit the laundry, cooking and cleaning into my already packed schedule, I'm washing less laundry, exploring new delicious recipes and cleaning nooks and crannies that never seem to get enough of my time.

- Instead of rushing off to work for hours on end, I'm balancing work and home life in a way I've never had the chance to experience before.

- Instead of missing out on what my kids are learning each day, I am now facilitating their learning both online and in authentic learning experiences.

- Instead of rushing through the day and barely squeezing in "me time", I bare getting through the day by focusing on "me time".

So much what has come to and end has allowed for new opportunities in my life.  

No one knows just how long things are going to be the way they are but what we can do is make the most of things by living each day to it's fullest.  Stop focusing on what you're missing out on but instead look at what this pandemic time is allowing for.  

The day I was ready to write this post I received this quote in my inbox (I've been getting Insight Of The Day quotes for years) and I couldn't help but smile thinking that there was a power out there far greater than I could ever imagine when I read it: 



No matter how long this social isolation lasts, find ways to tap into this newly found precious time.  Make each day count.  Try a new recipe.  Call up an old friend.  Spend some quality time with yourself and your loved ones. 

Make today count as we count down the days to getting back to life as we once knew it.