To cope during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have developed habits and rituals that bring me comfort, joy, and stability. Similarly, I’ve seen friends and family cooking and baking (sourdough starter, anyone?), tie-dying and sewing, and practicing yoga and meditation. Many people have participated in Zoom parties, virtual happy hours, regular family walks, and movie nights.
I anticipate that it will be a struggle to find time for many of these activities when we ultimately return to our jampacked lives. However, I hope to keep up with them periodically for a sense of calm and fulfillment.
I’ve decided to take stock of my ‘COVID Keepers,’ the comforting habits, hobbies, and rituals from this time, which I plan to incorporate into my post-pandemic life.
Gardening
Together with my husband, we built our first-ever family vegetable garden. He oversaw the infrastructure, including the raised beds and fencing. With some help from my mom, I planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, radishes, eggplant, squash, zucchini, lettuce, and herbs. I’ve learned a lot along the way and look forward to continuing to grow (some of) what we eat.
Home Workouts
I used to love going to my local gym, and maybe someday I’ll return. But being limited to working out solely at home allows me to squeeze in more than before and inspired me to incorporate new strength training and yoga practices. I’m also training for my first half marathon.
Audiobooks
Early in quarantine, I began borrowing audiobooks from the library to listen to as I tackled the exponentially growing housework – laundry, cleaning, and cooking. They offer me an escape from the day-to-day and a little “me time” when I least expect it.
Challah Baking
I’ve baked challah in the past at girls’ nights out but never attempted it on my own at home. At the beginning of the pandemic, I tested different challah recipes with my kids each Friday morning. I finally settled on my favorite one (in this fantastic book), which I baked weekly. There’s something very therapeutic about kneading dough.
Girls’ Zoom Night In
Like many, I used Zoom to keep up with friends and family over the last few months. Every Thursday night, I’ve gotten together digitally with a group of girlfriends I’ve known for a decade. We all live in the tri-state area, yet, under normal circumstances, we typically only get together a couple times a year. Our weekly Zooms allowed us to stay more present in each other’s lives, and we even got to “meet” one friend’s new baby while they were still in the hospital.
Making a list of ‘COVID Keepers’ is a meaningful exercise for everyone, including children. It encourages us to think about the silver linings of this challenging time and to find the positive. Before we know it, we’ll be back to shuttling between activities and long workday commutes. With whatever spare time we can muster, we may just want to keep our pandemic-time traditions alive.
What are your ‘COVID Keepers’?
