I Want to Start a Movement: Make It Better Than Expected
The other day, out of nowhere, my husband started talking about having picnics in the garage! Building on the idea of being outdoors, he wondered if we needed to make a compromise — maybe we could be semi-outdoors. Our garage doesn’t get that cold in winter, so he wondered how long into the fall we could have a few people over who are in our social bubble…those we feel good about meeting outdoors for a little barbeque.
I was unprepared for his plans, and I was tired, in need of a break, and did not want to talk about the pandemic in that moment. We have definitely extended our (pre-pandemic) family gatherings into the garage before when it has started to rain. So he asked, “Why don’t we plan some garage get-togethers?”
In the end, I realized the issue is more fundamental: we cannot change the restrictions the pandemic has made necessary. My expectations of working around them have become pretty low. For example, I don’t expect that I will be planning a big Thanksgiving dinner. I will plan for what I can, which I hope will be different but better than my current expectations.
There are many things that the pandemic has helped me improve. I am running on my schedule every week. I am sewing at least four times a week. I am seeing neighbors walking around that I had never met (I enjoy watching families walk with their children). I have kept up my volunteering, in a different way, but still I am doing something. My house, I’ll admit, is a little neater, and my garden looks great. Surely the rain has helped, but having more time to weed versus sit in traffic has helped even more!
In all sincerity, I continue to ask myself, “What is the next thing I can make better?” We are all getting accustomed to the least-restrictive phase in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware, and we know to wear masks etc. But what can we get into that would be better than expected? There are so many choices, and that alone lifts my spirits and makes it easier to accept what I cannot do. Take stock of your life. What opportunities can you find to make something better than expected?
