A walking path I utilize each day. I’m thankful that it is within walking distance of my home.
It’s been an interesting couple of months. That’s the diplomatic way to describe it. With much of the world sheltering at home in hopes of minimizing the spread of COVID-19, we all have been forced to adjust to a new normal.
I dreaded the idea of working from home. While everything around us was rapidly changing, spending the day at the office provided a sense of normalcy. Now more than two months into the working from home experience, it’s not as bad as I had expected. While I have learned to enjoy some of its benefits, the difference maker has been establishing and adhering to a new routine that supports productive workday habits. Still having more than enough work helps greatly, as does maintaining some sense of appropriate office attire and personal grooming.
While our gym is closed, Meagan and I have gotten into a home workout routine (correction, Meagan has established the routine and I simply follow) while making sure we also get enough walking and running outdoors. On weekends, we go on aimless drives, finding ways to occupy a few hours on the road without ever stepping out of the car. We pick up food a few nights a week from some of our favorite local small business restaurants and have mastered in-car dining while parked at our village commons area or a nearby park. At least we are pretending to eat out.
As weeks turn into months, spending time outside has helped. With my daily goal of walking 10,000 steps, I usually make it outside each day regardless of the weather. While all of this started in mid-March when it was still wintry out, spring has sprung over the last several weeks, providing many days suitable for outdoor walking or running. The mild temperatures, blue skies, and green landscapes provide me with an abundance of happiness.
I never was a homebody. But my biggest surprise through all this has been how much I’ve enjoyed being home. Asides from my Monday through Friday daytime work routine, it has been nice to not worry about who I am going to see, when, and where. I’m enjoying the break from social commitments, worrying about being on time somewhere, fighting with traffic on the roads, and relying on a calendar.
I have no right to complain about anything, nor do I feel compelled to. I feel bad for friends and family who are going stir crazy. I feel worse for the people who have lost loved ones and for those who are now out of work and their livelihoods disrupted. Meagan and I are fortunate to have everything we need, while I have seemingly adjusted well to our new normal. So many other people are not nearly as fortunate. I try to remain mindful of that each day.
Not knowing how things will play out over the next several months or possibly years (!) is unsettling. I wonder if I will go the entire summer without stepping foot in a pool or on a beach or how good the 2020 White Sox might have been if they had been playing. We’re not sure if our July getaway will happen or not, while I have wondered what Thanksgiving and Christmas might be like this year.
Those are relatively unimportant concerns at this point in time when compared to the hardships so many people are experiencing. It would be unfair if I were to sulk about the things I may not have, as opposed to being thankful for what I do have. With that perspective in mind, all is well on my end.
I have nothing to complain about.
