We are in the process of rethinking almost everything about how we lived up to March, 2020. Since the pandemic started, all our daily practices have been challenged. Here are a few:
Work: How we work and where we work.
Family – Who we see and who we don’t see, except electronically
Travel: So taken for granted before, and now, only if really required.
Entertainment: All those live concerts, movie releases, even dinner out with friends gone or changed to zoom events
Exercise: Trails open, trails closed, gyms opened, gyms closed.
Education- where schooling takes place if it takes place
And you wonder why you are stressed, overwhelmed and bored? And that is if you still have a job/income.
So, if you do, be grateful and stay with me. Even though my income has dropped, so has my spending. Since I’m working from home, I’m not buying much gas. I cook more, I spend less on food. (And eat more….oops!). I’m getting refunds from the concert tickets and theatre tickets that have been cancelled.
With no commute, I have more time to read, exercise or be with friends on zoom. Or whatever else I meant to do when I had a little time. I now have a little time.
And true to my nature, I’m filling it up.
I am thrilled that I can do zoom pilates, I have remote medical appointments with telemedicine, and health competitions online. We listen to concerts or watch them streaming. We may join the family in zoom codenames.
I’m seeing more long distance friends by zoom. I have zoom calls rather than the monthly dinners I used to have. My book club is by zoom and former members who moved away are back. So, for myself, I am focused on what I can do, not what is gone.
I can see how to do almost everything remotely except education and childcare. If we care about the future, we have to figure this out. An educated workforce is in all our best interests. Not just the parents. Not just our kids, but all kids. This could be the moment when we completely change education for the better or lose a cohort of kids (and some parents/team members from too much stress doing it all).
This is a systemic issue that is bigger than any individual to solve. It will take all of us leaning in to come up with a new way to educate our kids. Underfunded schools with overwhelmed parents and teachers not trained for remote teaching cannot solve this by themselves. For the sake of our kids and future generations, join me to lean into this anyway you can. Everything counts.