Finding Good Even in Pandemics

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

bgifts

We can all agree that 2020 has been “interesting”, right? And by interesting I mean the gift that keeps on giving — not in a good way. Or is it?

Of course there is just so much about 2020 to hatedislike, to want to move past, to want to forget. I often spend time thinking about how I can make people feel better with a blog post — if only for a little while. Here’s my rundown of some good things to come out of 2020.

Fairytales and Fitness

Less time on the road
Since I wasn’t working outside the house, I already drove much less than most people. Which is why my car is 20+ years old. For many months I didn’t take Lola to the vet, but now we’re back to regular visits.

I go grocery shopping about once a month (the rest is delivery). Dinner “out” is usually delivery. I spent months not visiting my mom, and I’m back at it twice a month, but unless they start letting us inside, that will come to a halt as it gets cold.

I rarely drive to run these days. Well, you get the picture. It saves wear and tear on the car, saves money on gas, and it helps lower pollution. If you’ve seen those photos of heavily polluted cities — the difference is astounding.

Getting stronger
I wrote my thoughts about why strength training is important here. Ironically I also chose Strong as my word for the year (se why here). It’s still totally appropriate for 2020, for many of the same reasons — although at the same time things changed, too.

I have made the personal choice to run less — some choose to run more, to each their own. With less running I have more time to cross train and strength train, and there is less stress in an already stressful year.

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More time on the phone, more Zooming — who would have ever guessed my mom would Zoom (with a lot of help)

More time with family
Well, more time with Mr. Judy. Not so much with my family. I know some families have had much more time together though. The reason sucks, but spending time connecting is a very good thing in our unconnected world.

Getting creative about get togethers — and other stuff!
I will admit I haven’t been that creative about get togethers, but some people really have! Where there’s a will, there’s a way, as they say. It’s also amazing to see how creative some companies are.

Speaking of getting creative, how about those Blogger Zoom calls?
It was fun to put voices with faces of people you haven’t met. I’ve met some bloggers, but I haven’t been able to make any of the big blogger meetups, so that was nice.

How have you gotten creative this Summer?

Do you feel you’ve gotten closer to your family?

What good can you find in 2020?

13 thoughts on “Finding Good Even in Pandemics”

  1. You just reminded me that we should do another zoom blogger call! It has been challenging to find ways to stay social. I have also done more strength training and that is good. I also read more. Have a great weekend

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  2. I think I posted about this. Maybe not.

    Lots of positives:
    More walking
    More hiking
    Seeing new places
    More time with hubby
    Gardening
    More cooking

    I’ve have been seeing my friends and running with others.

    And at first you had to be creative. Now it’s more normal. But not normal.

    It’s still hard to forget about the sickness, deaths, unemployment and all the suffering.

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  3. We had been spending a lot less time in the car too, then we drove to Colorado and back. That put on all the miles we “missed” earlier in the year in just a few weeks.

    I feel so bad for your mom and folks like her who must feel so isolated right now. I hope you are able to have inside visits before the weather gets too cold.

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    1. My mom was lucky, in a sense. I know many senior living facilities that were on complete lockdown. They are slowly opening up so she sees more people now. That doesn’t make it easy though. I haven’t even want to bring up Thanksgiving with anyone, although I’ve already thought of it.

      I do hope you are able to have some kind of inside visit when the weather turns colder, too.

      My sister suggested that maybe we should finally do my dad’s burial (we had a service, but his ashes are still at the funeral home).

      For many reasons, not the least of which is my brother would have to fly across country to do it, I said I don’t think it’s a great idea. Still.

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  4. It’s always good to look at the brighter side of things – thank you for reminding us to do that!

    Other than driving to visit my mom last month and now driving to meet our friends for our Saturday morning bike rides, our cars have hardly left the garage since March 12th. We’re seeing our kids a lot more, but that is in part because our oldest moved from NJ to VA in early-March, the week before everything closed down.

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    1. Yeah, we rarely drove for months. Until I started to visit my mom. Now adding in the day trips.

      That’s wonderful to be so close to your kids! Plus since you’re both into cycling, that makes it easier to go places without driving. We don’t bike!

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  5. How have you gotten creative this Summer? In the kitchen with meals since we cannot go out.

    Do you feel you’ve gotten closer to your family? No, most of my family is deceased.

    What good can you find in 2020? Rediscovered my faith. Finding appreciation in the small things. Life typical pace has slowed a bit to allow time to smell the roses. Public places are cleaner then they have been. The stock market has recovered.

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