It has now officially been 2 months since we’ve “self-isolated” or “quarantined” or whatever buzz word you’d like to call it. Basically since I stepped foot outside of the hospital after giving birth to Charlie (or was wheeled out, I should say), I walked into my house and never walked out in the same way again. I waited around for what felt like forever as a preggo, and absolutely did not realize that I would continue to just “wait around” for months after delivery. Waiting for the world to feel the same, waiting for life to resume, waiting to feel normal again in my own body and in my own life. But what I didn’t realize was that normal would never be the same again. It’s ironic, because I hear a lot of women talk about how in their own postpartum journey, they discover that they will never “GO BACK” they will only rediscover their new, which is looking ahead. I simultaneously feel that way in my postpartum journey, and in my new life after being isolated for so long. It’s almost metaphoric for me, because the two are one-in the same, and for those who continue to wait for the normal to resume, I hate to burst your bubble, but there will never be the old normal again, just the new. I’ve been trying to come to terms with this, and to rediscover things in this new way of living to make me happy, and through this journey I’ve had a few epiphanies that I felt like sharing. What felt like a trap in the first month has turned into a freeing new way of life in month two, and I’ve realized that so much of how I was living was wasteful, time consuming and not really necessary. So here’s my discoveries:
Processed food is the devil: I have struggled with my eating habits for a while now. I am the queen of quick fixes, like grabbing a bar for on-the-go, or cereal for dinner. Those things are fine in moderation, but I hit a point where that was my overall diet, mostly because between working and being a mom, I didn’t have much time to devote to cooking for myself. I think the main issue was just that I was overbooking myself, and I’ve learned that it is important to start every day with a filling and healthy breakfast, and to take the time to have a nice dinner every night. We’ve cooked almost every meal at home, and I have to say, it really does feel incredible. Now when we order in, we are always mentioning how salty the food is, and how we can actually feel it way way more since we aren’t used to it.
We should really think about how much time we spend with our children: Before the pandemic, Hudson was in school from Monday – Thursday while I worked with Sea. I do think school is absolutely necessary, and he will for sure be going back, but I am also more confident that I can handle getting my work done and spending more time than I was previously spending with him. There’s always a battle between where to spend our time, especially as parents, and this time at home made me realize that my time spent with my kids is the number one priority.
The amount of time spend on getting ready: Working in this job (being in photos all of the time) before this pandemic, I would get a little bit anxious about having enough time to get ready and to look ‘picture perfect.’ I would place such unrealistic expectations on myself to have perfectly curled hair and a full face of makeup every time I took photos, which is basically every day. It’s tiring and a lot to keep up with! I actually enjoy not wearing makeup, or wearing very light makeup! I’ve really pushed the boundaries on dressing more casual, wearing less makeup, and overall trying less hard to be perfect for photos every day. That isn’t real-life anyway! I’m not sure why I felt like it was a part of this whole influencing thing, and since when did I follow what everyone else does anyway?!
Gym memberships: I have been working out most days from home, and realize how useless my gym membership is! Especially with 2 kids! It is so hard to actually get to the gym, and I’ve been enjoying free youtube videos from Fitness Blender or Mad.Fit or popsugar fitness, and I recently got the SWEAT app from Kayla Itsines! It has been a game changer. I may never go back to the gym again.
Life is short and unpredictable: I have seen and heard so many stories about people who have lost loved ones to COVID. Life is not something we should ever take for granted. Theres no use wasting time being stressed, anxious, mad, or on ill feelings. I’ve really learned from this to call my loved ones more, appreciate the small things, and to look at every day as an incredible blessing.
I know that it took horrible circumstances to come up with these shifts in my lifestyle and thoughts, but I really do feel like this past few months has shown me some lessons that I needed to face. At first being at home and slowing down felt so uncomfortable, but now I enjoy it, and I appreciate really small things, like a good smelling candle, or a good few hours of house cleaning, or spending time teaching Hudson to read. What has quarantine taught you?
