It’s the little things (part 2)

Day 24 of the Covid19 lockdown in South Africa(I think…). I have been working from home for just over a month now and I have to say that it really hasn’t been as bad for Alex and I. I get the sense from social media that a lot of people are not enjoying this period at all though. There have really been far more positives to this experience for us both. Let me know if you can relate to any of them.

The things I am enjoying

• Quality time spent cooking, baking and even cleaning with Alex. It feels great because it feels like we are working as a team. I also have a little more patience with him because we don’t have to rush.
• Eating supper at the table. I had sold my dining room chairs over Christmas because I wanted a new look. I just didn’t get around to buying a new set until 2 days before lockdown! I got a bee in my bonnet and decided that we were not going through lockdown without dining room chairs. Besides, the dining table was becoming a clutter magnet which was driving me insane. Now we have chairs again and we have eaten at the table almost every night.
• I have being rearranging our home and, as a result, I am starting to enjoy it again. I still work all week so I don’t have as much time as I would like to do all the things I want to but, that is a good problem to have.
• I get to spend more time with Alex in general and even shoot a few basketball hoops with him although he does run circles around me.
• I am able to monitor Alex’s progress with his school work. Why are boys so lazy when it comes to school work? This is the one area where we still have our fights.
• My best friend and I have started meeting via Zoom to exercise some mornings. Isn’t it funny how we never got to the gym together and it took the lockdown for us to find a way to exercise together? I must admit that that morning session makes a huge difference to my mood and energy levels during the course of the day.
• My little garden continues to thrive. I never ever expected to enjoy gardening. I mean ever. The idea of digging the in the dirt just did not appeal to me. Buying my own home spurred this need to have plants inside and outside my home. Imagine my surprise when I discovered what a grounding experience gardening is. I love it!
• I had the time to nurse my Siamese fighter fish back to some level of health. Problem is that he felt so good that he jumped out the bowl on Easter morning (he was in isolation to give him the space to heal), and accidentally committed suicide. I was devastated!
• My son is evolving into a young man before my very eyes. Has grown taller since we have been at home and his hormones are clearly kicking in. I am grateful for the experience of actually being able to watch him go through this.
• I have chosen to use this time to finish all the books I have started in the last 6 months and never got around to finishing. And there are a lot! I am done with 3 already and about 5 or more to go. Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies as to why I have so many unfinished books lying around.
• Connecting with friends and family more often via messaging and calls. No-one has ever had the time to connect as much as we do now.
• I’ve even had the opportunity to do the Mind Power course with Robin Banks online this weekend. It was exhausting but very enlightening. I am looking forward to the next few weeks of exercises and follow-up webinars.

How are we able to stay sane?

• We have developed a routine. Alex gets up by 8 am and starts his school work when I dial into my first meeting which is at 8:30am every morning. We have lunch at around 12pm and dinner at around 6pm and he is asleep by 9pm. The routine is like an anchor.
• I shower every morning and get dressed as if I was actually going to step out the house almost everyday. I even put mascara on some days and perfume just because I can. My usual skin care routine and especially applying SPF in the morning is a must! Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you are staying inside all day, you don’t need SPF.
• Saturdays are still my pamper days where I mask and exfoliate and pay extra attention to my skin.
• Alex has his hoop and X-box and Netflix. I had to limit the time spent on the x-box and Netflix for fear his brain might rot. He, of course is highly unimpressed…lol. Now he does sudoku and other puzzles as well as draws to fill in the time.

My only frustration

My one frustration has been work dominating my time at home. I have come to accept this to some degree because I cannot change it and as I have mentioned previously, it is a very good problem to have.

Minor challenges

• Snacking! Thankfully I have managed to maintain my intermittent fasting throughout. The problem now is snacking during my eating window. It has always been a challenge but now it is even worse!
• Staying off my phone. Apple tells me that I am on my phone for more that 9 hours a day! That is outrageous. I see it doesn’t even bother to tell me what percentage increase that amounts to every week. Could it be that bad???
• Getting up and moving around during the day. I used to get in about 5000 steps at work alone everyday. Now I battle to get 2000 steps on an average day. I forget to move away from my computer which is not a good thing. I think it has been one of the main reasons my weight loss stopped for a while. Today my shorts felt really big on me so I am hoping that the morning exercise is reversing that trend. Time will tell.

As an introvert, I have to admit that this lockdown has been bliss for me. I find working in an open plan office is extremely draining so this is like heaven. I miss the people but I am also loving the relative solitude. I have no doubt that people’s lives will be different for months, if not years to come. I am not sure it is a bad thing. I am enjoying the little things right now. They make life more enjoyable.

Stay safe everyone. Don’t forgot to wash your hands often if you are coming into contact with other people regularly and definitely don’t forget to moisturise your hands after each wash. Rough dry hands are no fun. If in doubt about what to do to stay safe, follow the WHO and/or government guidelines.

I hope your list of likes are far longer than your list of frustrations and challenges at this time too. Let me know how you are enjoying this lockdown period in the comments below.