Improvements in My Life in Quarantine

 

We have now been in a shelter in place/stay at home since late March. I have celebrated my wedding anniversary and my birthday at home. While I still go to the office to work, the office is deserted, the streets are deserted and all amenities in my office building are deserted.  At lunch, no one is outside walking and I get the sidewalks to myself. I haven't hugged someone, shaked a hand or had an in person meeting - other than with my husband Joey and Angus, my dog - in months. I have given up my usual routine and hobbies and have had to adjust my life completely and there have been some really good adjustments.
While so many people bemoan how bad all of this is, and I agree, this is a terrible situation. I don't want to look back on this time of my life and not see something positive that came from it.  So, I want to share with you what I have improved while in quarantine and I would love to hear about your successes as well.

I pick up the phone more. I text less.I call my family members just to see how they are doing every 10-14 days - something I was not prone to doing before March. And its nice. I also like calls with clients, board members and my friends and I look forward to those calls much more than I did previously.

I listen to higher quality content going to work. Despite my commute being a lot less stressful with the lack of traffic, I have upgraded what I listen to in the morning. Before this, I listened predominantly to a horror podcast where they read horror stories - about an hour long each week - and some true crime podcasts.  Since this, I have listened to some classic detective novels, like The Hound of the Baskervilles, and I look forward to driving each day to hear the next chapter.  Even when the traffic comes back, I plan on continuing to listen to these classic novels.

Cooking is less intimidating. This has taken some time for me to achieve. If you ask my family, they would tell you that I can cook, but I always remind them that I am actually just pretty good at picking recipes for special occasions. Since March, I have been using all of the appliances in my home, including the Instant Pot that I received for Christmas (thanks Mom!). Has everything been great? No. Am I ok with that? Yes. By cooking more often, I am accepting of things that don't come out perfect and I am feeling a lot less pressure.  Last night, I made dinner and paired a main dish with a side dish based on how I thought they would taste together. It was delicious and I was surprised that I had the tasting combination figured out on my own. Correctly. This weekend, I am looking forward to making wings in my Instant Pot using my new Air Fryer lid that I received for my birthday (thanks Eric and Carol!) since I usually compete in a wing contest Memorial Day weekend.

I am better at exercising. Prior to the shut down, I was an OrangeTheory Fitness member and I would go 3-4 days a week to class, which often included a grueling 90 minute class on Friday nights.  Initially, I walked and jogged and tried to get active but it was boring and solitary - like everything else in my world - and it wasn't working for me. My husband bought a Peloton bike and despite telling him that I didn't think I would use it much, that has become my exercise go to. I rack up between 4 and 6 hours on it a week and I am steadily improving my strength and output. This has also forced me to get up earlier in the mornings so that I can either work out in the morning, or get everything done at work in time to run home and work out before it is too late.  My hope is that even once OTF reopens and I return, I still spend extra time on the Peloton and the Peloton community. 

I miss wearing suits. Before I was a community associations attorney, I did criminal defense (yes, I do have some very interesting stories from those days) and I was in court every day, so I had a closet full of suits. While I am in court less now, I still have a closet full of suits and I actually miss wearing them. I love my fleece pullovers and hoodies, but I feel different when I am in a suit and heels and I like the mindset that it provokes.  No, I am not going to start wearing suits now, but I will complain less about having to wear them when I start going to court and in person client meetings again.