Oh hey, my computer died and I forgot to charge it and here we are in March… does that sound like a valid excuse to not have posted?? In truth, my friend Mary reminded me of this when I started this – the beauty of starting something with no expectations is I can do whatever I want. So here I am, giving you a 3 month break from me and then I am going to hit you hard with nonsense! Honestly, it was 1 part laziness and 134,324 parts “where did the time go, how have I not posted anything since December?!”.
2020 started off fast and furious and I didn’t have a chance to recap my travels before I was off on the next…. until now.
My last flight was from Orlando the second weekend in March. I was seated in the unofficial “family” seating, which is not a real thing, but apparently on this 7am flight, the families rallied together to come up with a plan to have me COMPLETELY surrounded with children in every row around me for a 5 hour flight. I am being dramatic, they were very well-behaved – especially the ones whose parents went rouge on their screen time rules and let them run amuck on their iPads and snacks-for-dayz. But God bless parents who travel with kids, it is a thankless job of schlepping and constant demands just to see your kids lose their minds when they meet Mickey in person or touch the ocean for the first time. I applaud you parent travelers!! Anyhoooooo…..
It comes to no surprise to anyone that travel has halted across the country. What used to be bustling airports that took forever and a half to get through security are now completely abandoned; those long AM airport Starbucks lines that make you choose between coffee and potentially missing your flight – a thing of the past. Our world is seeing unprecedented times and with the unknown comes fear.
This story telling platform (it is not a blog) was never meant to be something where I shared anything more than wacky people I encounter but might digress a little bit today.
As an event planner, this pandemic has impacted my work tremendously and brought on a whole new set of tasks – as it has with everyone. We are all being impacted in so many ways. So as I sit at my desk, rather than a tray table in the skies, I feel compelled to take the time to remember that in the midst of the fear and the things feeling ominous and frankly, a little scary and out of control, there is still a lot of things that are going ok. Being “grounded” for a couple weeks gives us the chance to do the superficial things like catch up on all the Housewives of New York before the April 2 premiere (clearly, I don’t have that on my list….). But it also gives us a chance to do things for ourselves, our community and the betterment of humanity, all from the comfort of our home. Which leads me to today – I am taking time to tell you 9 things I am grateful for during this period of uncertainty, social distancing and an unprecedented times.
DISCLAIMER: I do not take this situation lightly for one second but I want to take advantage of the fact that there is good instead of investing all my energy into the what-ifs. My plan isn’t to rid myself of reality, but just of the constant barrage of extreme declarations from all sides and find a neutral place to hang out in while we are stuck in this situation. If you want to see the numbers, the stock market, the new closings and the commentary – it is everywhere. This is a reprieve from the masses, or if nothing else a 15-minute break from scrolling your Instagram.
Top 9 Cool Things About Being Grounded:
Being given the opportunity to reconnect: I am grateful to take advantage of the slowing down of our lives, and suddenly having more free time means a great chance to catch up or just check in. Facetime, phone calls, random chatting throughout the day, whatever! It doesn’t have to be marathon phone calls but being removed from our day to day gives all of us a chance to check on each other! Facetime happy hours with your friend across the country, yes please! Somehow social distancing might give us the chance to nurture some of those friendships we don’t always have time for in a different way!
**Getting to enjoy the cleanest and most organized my house will ever be – At some point Netflix will lose its luster and our other to do’s will not look as inviting which will lead to the inevitable spring cleaning on steroids! I put asterisks on this one because this is obviously the hope but I also know the reality (see #7). But yesterday when I was straightening up my laundry room I found 18 ROLLS of toilet paper I forgot I bought at Costco a long time ago. I thought it was paper towels and low and behold…so let that be a lesson to you. #blessed
Sharpen those skills – In my work, given that I work in the healthcare industry, we are all hands on deck. I have been asked to stretch my skills, comfort level and work outside the box with almost every task I have been handed this week because a lot of the logistics is unknown for everyone. So as we run into roadblocks and are faced with challenges, it feels a little like Amazing Race (minus the travel and fabulous cash prizes). We are constantly being thrown into a situation and have to make our way through with whatever resources we have, quickly and methodically. It has made me realize I am better at some stuff than I thought I was! So whether it be at work, or being super creative in your cooking with what you have in your pantry or figuring out how to accomplish a task with limited social interaction and outside help, it’s a great feeling of accomplishment to know you can do it, even with the added elements of the unknown.
Chance to weed out the nonsense – This one has been huge for me. I never realized how much “stuff” I do. I mean I do know, but I didn’t know what a freeing feeling it is! At first, I felt guilty when I would come home after work and just…. be home? I wasn’t running unnecessary errands, I wasn’t squeezing in a class, going to drinks or swinging by a friends. It wasn’t like I had “plans” every night of the week but I “had stuff to do”. Granted I miss those interactions and freedom of being able to go and do but there is something to be said for the stuff in our life we are just filling it with. Getting back to the basics has made me realize that maybe when COVID-19 has been tamed, hanging on to some of this freedom from my own expectations to always be going is a welcome residual from this experience.
Chance to flex your creativity – Stay at home parents are blowing my mind this week! Seeing their creativity for how to entertain children – Leprechaun hunts, baking, theme lunches and outdoor adventures. I am blown away by being given a little bit of time (and desperation 🙂 ) the juices begin flowing and so much is discovered outside of popping in a movie – which no judgement, that’s a great option too. Even getting creative about get-togethers with (small) groups of friends! No bar happy hours – no problem! Picnic in the park. No workout class together? After dinner walk! Stepping outside of your norm could be your new norm.
You get to be guilt-free lazy – This one is my personal favorite. If you aren’t feeling well, rest. If you are home and don’t have anything you need to do, lounge. If you are home and you DO have something to do but don’t feel like it, kick your feet back friend. With things slowing down, it is an awesome, socially acceptable time to have the perfect excuse to not do ANYTHING I know I am guilty of it, feeling like some downtime is wasted if I am not watching tv and doing something else but this last weekend, I took full advantage of laziness by starting Season 1 – Episode 1 of Seinfeld. No, this is not a remake series, just straight up 90’s Seinfeld, and it was awesome. Give yourself permission to do whatever you want, especially if whatever is absolutely nothing.
Embracing technology for the good – How much are people LOVING the fact that with gyms closing, instead of saying “Eh good luck” they are doing virtual classes, offering discounted or free opportunities to use libraries of streamed workouts and all around creating a community?? I did a barre class in my living room with 15 other people streaming in at the same time. I watched church from my couch this week in a bathrobe, the possibilities are endless. Although I am thoroughly enjoying the memes and hilarity on my Instagram feed, I am also appreciating the innovation that is coming with this new set of parameters we are being met with.
Do your part to stimulate the economy – I personally have made it my mission to buy nothing I need and everything I want in the name of keeping our economy thriving…. yeah let’s go with that. But seriously, I have been shopping online because of the killer deals but also because so many stores, especially local entrepreneurs are adapting their business to do “by appointment” shopping to allow fewer people in the stores at a time, they are offering great deals to purchase online and pickup curbside. Same with great local places to eat, buy a gift card that you can use later but puts money in their pocket now. So many businesses and employees are unsure of what the weeks ahead bring, every little thing helps.
Focus on the greater good – The greatest thing I have seen as this pandemic unfolds is that humanity really is good. We see people offering to share their groceries, checking in on their elderly neighbors, helping each other out with child care with the schools closed, donating to local workers out of work due to shut downs. We are all in this together and even though I wish this was under control, there is something awesome about knowing that when push comes to shove, we are there for each other. My 93 year old grandma died last year – she was a humble women who did so many things for some many people and not until after she died did we realize the magnitude of her reach in the community. People showed up at her memorial service in tears telling us how much she had changed their life and we hadn’t even heard of them. I am talking MORE THAN ONE PERSON said this, who has that kind of impact without any of her family or friends knowing?? In one of the last conversations I had with her, that now I realize how special it was, we talked about how she had the privilege of being on this earth for almost 94 years and said the most important thing of all is “if we don’t help others, what is the point?” And it is true. In the time where things seem uncertain and scary, rather than hunker down and hope it passes, get out there and see what you can do for others. You might be surprised what a blessing it is to them but even more to you.
So let’s take advantage of being “grounded”:
- Grounded – No flights coming and going
- Grounded – Being removed from activities, not allowed to do what we are used to
- Grounded – Chance to take a step back re-center and getting back to the basics
Gosh I love a good play on words!!! Stay safe, wash yo’ hands.
View From Row 15 