A Temporary Normal
Happy May!!!! It’s the best month of the year, but I am also SUPER biased ;)
April Showers really do bring May flowers — I woke up today, very positive, happy to see my friend (the sun) first thing in the morning. I knew it was going to be a great day, from there.
I will admit, and for my poor partner that has been dealing with me for the last few months; I have not exactly been the most positive person to be around lately. But, I wake up every day grateful to see another day and work on it a little more each day. I tend to give myself a little extra grace during this time, as I know this is not normal, but more so a temporary normal; one we are all learning to navigate day by day.
I think it now concludes 8 weeks that quarantine has been in effect. Hard to imagine that 8 weeks ago, if someone said Coronavirus or COVID-19, we would look at them with confusion and scratch our heads.. now, it seems to be all anyone ever talks about.
I am also hearing a lot of this phrase “The New Normal”, which irks me. Correcting everyone when I hear that phrase constantly; to share the perspective that no — it’s not “new”. New suggests everlasting — it’s new! It’s the new way of doing things! It’s exciting! and I do not consider it new, but more so temporary. When we find that cure or vaccine, COVID-19 will be a story of the past and conversations around it will fade into thin air, and boy I know we all can’t wait to see that day.
I am sure we all personally know of friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, etc. that have been affected by COVID-19, and this is when it really starts to hit home. Nothing about this virus is or should be our “new normal”. My heart is with all the frontline and essential workers everyday, my own parents included in this, who have worked selflessly during lockdowns, shelters in place, and all.
Nevertheless, like I said, I am sticking to being more positive, so let’s talk more about what we have all been doing during our “temporary normal” to social distance and stay healthy. Here’s my list, I hope you takeaway something to try from this list, if you have not already and send me an update or let me know how you are doing during this time.
1. Cooking/Baking up a Storm — Not going to lie, my favorite room in my house is now my kitchen. It is my creative haven currently, with my sous chef being Pinterest. Feel free to follow me on Pinterest if you would like to cook up some of the recipes I have been using. From Jalapeno Chicken Poppers, Stuffed Bell Peppers, Chicken Fried Rice, Hibachi, Cucumber Salads, to Snickerdoodles and Butter Cookies with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting… safe to say I will most likely gain a few pounds coming out of quarantine.
2. Planting a Garden — My patio has been the dinner/weekend spot for Matt and I since going to Home Depot and stocking up on flowers and gardening materials. We have spiced it up and created such a sweet area to curl up and read a book and relax, get some sun and tan, have a nice dinner and chat. I am so thankful he’s good with watering and feeding the plants — he’s become a huge plant dad and it’s literally the cutest thing ever.
3. Paint & Sip — I have done one of these in the past and really enjoyed myself, but Matt had not and thought it was a great idea for us to do together, while also testing his artistic abilities to see if he had an artistic side to him. This was a great activity since we are a newer couple and still continuing to learn about each other. *My newer couples who are quarantining together, I recommend this activity for you all. We added our own little spin to our paint & sip by sipping on some beer while partaking in a 90’s power hour, so super fun and super tipsy by the end of our painting session. Also, for those of you that bet on Matt’s artistic ability, you were right! :)
I could tell you all the activities we have done, but then I could also be going on for hours and to conscious of your time, I will stop here. So, as you can see, my temporary normal has consisted of lots of different activities. It’s not what I expected and even though I enjoy these activities outside of our temporary normal, my passion for them has grown and being able to do them with my partner has created a bond and made it more special.
I will leave you with one last thought: Everything in life is temporary, nothing is permanent and lasts forever. This is a difficult concept to learn for those who are more compassionate, maybe tend to get attached, and have a hard time accepting change, and I know we all fit at least one of these criteria here. I encourage you to enjoy the moments you are given during this time, have a silly dance party, facetime family and friends, drink and reminisce on past memories, watch a show or movie, play a board game, take a stroll through the neighborhood, and know that this is temporary.
The clouds are passing friends, the sun is coming out!
With Love, Yas
