If there’s an upside to the up-side down world we’re living in right now, it’s the slower pace of life. Coronavirus forced us to sit still and stay home. Because my daughter is in the high-risk category, our nuclear family has been home longer than most as we continue to isolate even though things are opening up around us.
Do my kids miss going to school and seeing their friends? Does my youngest miss going to dance class? Do I miss the few hours a week I got to myself to run errands or see my friends while my kids were at school? Yes, yes and yes! But we are also all enjoying the slower pace of life.
What’s so great about a slower pace?
It’s doing more activities at home together as a family. We’ve got closets full of board games and craft projects. Most of which we’ve collected, but hardly ever do because we’re too busy running around. With this slower pace, we’ve actually pulled those games out of the closet and played them together…multiple times. We’ve completed a ton of craft projects and decorated the house with them.
It’s digging out old household tools and toys we haven’t used for years. For example, we bought an ice cream maker I don’t even know how many years ago. The frozen barrel has been in our freezer for years, just taking up space and never getting used. The base of the machine collecting dust in our basement. When it got warm out and we wanted ice cream, we decided to start making our own. We’ve enjoyed picking out flavors and “extras” to add to the ice cream together as a family. Our girls love watching the machine churn the ice cream and they, of course, love eating it. Without the virus forcing us to enjoy the slower pace of life, that ice cream maker would still be collecting dust.
It’s having the time to chat with my bestie who lives across the country. With 2 children each, we are both typically so busy caught up in the daily grind that we don’t get to catch up with each other as much as we’d like. With this slower pace, she and I have talked more than ever and it’s been simply amazing. Though time and physical distance has kept us apart in recent years, our friendship has never changed. But it sure has been nice to actually feel that connection and experience it again.
It’s experimenting with new dinner recipes. I tended to make the same things all the time when life was busy. I would give up and say let’s go out for dinner when 4 pm rolled around and I didn’t have anything defrosted. But I’ve gotten more creative since I’ve been forced to cook dinner every single day. With this slower pace, I have more time to research new recipes and try new things in the kitchen. I don’t really enjoy cooking and I would say this is the part of isolation I was probably dreading the most, but I actually find myself enjoying this too.
And my single favorite thing about this slower pace of life? It’s not having to get up and rush everyone out the door every morning by 7:30 am. Since we’ve been home, my girls have been climbing into my bed with me (after my husband gets up to go to work in his home office) and we cuddle for 30 minutes or more. I will forever treasure these memories with my girls.
Find Your Own Joy
While I look forward to the world returning to “normal,” I’m trying to soak up the positives of this slower pace. It’s a temporary situation, but I hope it has taught us all what really matters in life. I hope everyone can find their own joy in this slower pace and savor it while it’s here.
