I hate saying it. It sounds terrible. Millions of people died. Many more got sick. The financial impacts were brutal. There was suffering all around. And yet…
I’ve been realizing lately just how happy I was during Covid despite everything that happened.
Why?
First, I was lucky enough not to lose my life or any loved ones from the disease. I was grateful.
Secondly, I didn’t have too much to do. I wasn’t running from one thing to the next. I had time to enjoy every activity I did, although the activity pool was admittedly much smaller. I was living in the present.
I was home all day with my wife and one of my daughters, like the ultimate staycation .
We played games, watched movies together, hung out in the yard under the sun, like it was a beach.
We did this for months. It was actually quite relaxing.
Of course, it helped that my wife continued to get paid as a teacher while they moved classes online and reduced the workload.
It also helped that by a stroke of luck, the “gig workers unemployment compensation” kicked in for me and actually paid at a level much higher than I expected.
We even saved a bunch of money during Covid because it was hard to spend it.
It all felt like a big, long, paid vacation.
As I said, I know this is ironic and that I’m very lucky. I feel bad even bringing it up. But the fact remains that for me, the Covid shut down showed me what my life could be like, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Of course, after a while, I got the itch to return to activities. And when the country opened up again and those activities resumed, things got busier than ever for me.
As a musician, none of us knew how long it would last. We figured it would be several months to a year, but here we are a year and a half later and things are still crazy-busy enough to make me nostalgic; not for Covid, but for the super-slow pace of life that Covid forced on us.
Work/life balance is critical. So is taking rests and pacing ourselves, even in doing things we love.
I guess the bottom line is that you take a lesson in life from whoever teaches it, even if it is Covid.
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Thanks for talking about this! I enjoyed my time at home too, but living solo was a challenge, so I drove down to my daughter’s for extended stays with her and the kids, where we cocoons and did some work on my daughter’s house. It was a good time, we were all safe. My daughter still worked, she was considered an essential worker, even though she works for a used car lot selling to subprime borrowers.
Sounds like some excellent family times! Thanks for sharing that Tamara 🙂
It was great! I kind of miss that!
I think the lockdowns taught many of us about priorities. I know my children found they preferred working from home,
That’s so true about priorities!
You know Todd, you said something that I didn’t dare to say, I also was happy during Covid. Less people but above all less cars and planes going around. I started practicing Pilates at home every day. I had great walks in parks, my son came back home from the university in the Netherlands so we spent a lot of time together. We were plenty of things to do. I worked and learned a lot of new IT tools, my son studied and my husband experimented new recipes to feed us. It was simply one of the best time of my life so far. Thank you for bringing up such nice memories!
I also appreciated the lack of cars and planes. We had a snowy winter and many people of all ages would meet on the big hill in a nearby park and go sledding. There was a really good community vibe.
Covid provided a great excuse for not dealing with those annoying friends and relatives. 😆.
Covid provided a nice mental and physical break from daily rituals.
Covid provided me with a realization many things I thought were important should have never been a concern.
Great comment Kevin- thanks! 🙂
I get what you’re saying, Todd. I didn’t mind having to stay home. It made me realize that I could retire and still have many things to do at home to keep me busy. It was also a relief not to be rushing here there and everywhere all the time.
I did miss seeing my mum and other friends and relatives, though.
Thanks for reading and commenting Michelle😎
I can relate. There were definitely some scary moments, but I generally was happy too. It’s funny how that worked. You bring up a good point. I wonder how we’ll look back on the pandemic five or ten years from now. How will people talk about that time and the few years after?
Good questions- it will be interesting!
I could also see some changes made by our Government to understand work-life balance post covid. The impact of VC and online systems is evident and still some companies are using hybrid methods. I cannot say that I enjoyed the period but definitely it was one stress-free phase in my life as a growing advocate.
Thanks for commenting! It’s funny – the work life balance improved for many people I know but got much worse for a few others.
I couldn’t agree more. However that is the thing about Life and Time, It has different Impact on everyone.
So true 💯
My husband felt we didn’t spend much during covid and to compensate everything is expensive and the prices have doubled. Yes it looks like we all needed that staycation but I am for returning to baseline normal.
Point taken- thanks for commenting 🙂
I def lost money during Covid and got sick the end of 2020, but not with Covid thankfully. But I liked not having to deal with loads of people every where or the traffic. It was quiet and peaceful. You could feel that things were off but it also gave mother nature a chance a break from us polluting her. So yes good and bad things came from Covid..
I agree- a break from the pollution was nice👍
It was a common joke, but a true one, that life for introverts didn’t change significantly during COVID, or even improved because it gave us the excuse of not going out and seeing people. I definitely related to that for a good 6 or 7 months–it saved my life at first because going back and forth to university and work was getting very hard on me mentally. I welcomed the slow, self-directed pace of life for the following summer.
However, once that honeymoon period was over and “waves” of new lockdown regulations kept coming and going and coming again harsher, coupled with the change of seasons, the effect on me was reversed: the lockdown and endless discussion around it became what was killing my mental health.
I realised that something that is good for you at one time may not be good for you forever. Doesn’t mean that the beneficial parts of it weren’t still beneficial, so I definitely appreciate you bringing that out in your post: there was an ease of living, allowing for rest and reflection, during some of the time of lockdown that was definitely healthy, and we should make time for that type of enjoyment of life still.
Great point about something good not necessarily being good forever. As an introvert myself, I can relate to your initial lockdown feelings too. Thanks for commenting!
Great post and point about taking lessons from life, whatever it is. Also, “So is taking rests and pacing ourselves, even in doing things we love.” You are so right – Covid made me more intentional and I appreciate that more after reading this article. Thank you!
Thanks Wynne! 🙂
I was happy during Covid, too. No need to go to social functions, dress up or even get your hair styled. On a deeper level I liked the isolation from the rest of the world. Life was simpler with no expectations.
I’m with you! 🙂
I realized I was an ambivert sometime during COVID. I “tested” years ago (and projected) as an extrovert. And I worked in healthcare, and my work schedule was quite full. But the “down times” were SO drastically different! COVID forced the “chance” to slow down and do things differently – which turned into me seeing things – including myself – quite differently as well.
Great comment- I think Covid gave a lot of us a chance to see ourselves differently.
I loved and hated the lockdown, although I was laid off and worked side gigs here and there, my annual pay was much higher due to no tax deductions. We traveled quite a bit and looked for new jobs, right after out trip to Mexico, we both received job offers which was absolutely wonderful. After a year of chilling at home I got back to teaching at a bigger school in a rough neighborhood. The pay was great but so was the stress of trying to discipline 15-year-olds after a year of no discipline. It was not a good place to work, so I finished the year and moved out as fast as I could. We ended up in the Pacific North West, so far it’s been pretty awesome. Covid brought lots of changes, both good and bad ones.
Both good and bad changes- so true! I can imagine the challenges of trying to manage 15 year olds after the Covid layoff. Many of my friends work at the elementary level and they were struggling with the same issues there as well. I’m glad the Pacific Northwest is working out!
It’s really cool for so many reasons, one of them is they have better schools
Excellent!
Great post. Covid was a story of two half’s for me. The first was great for the reasons you outlined but then it began to feel imprisoning. Especially being in Hong Kong with its increasingly insane zero covid policy which was clearly in the end politically motivated. It did teach me a huge amount though. Ultimately I am glad for it. Thanks Todd 🙏
Thanks AP2- I remember reading something you wrote about the Hong Kong measures – it sounded like a very difficult situation.
So true-balance IS hard.
💯
My introverted self loved being home alone in a guilt-free-do-nothing environment with little or no expectations heaped upon me, freeing me to do what I wanted, when I wanted, without feeling selfish about saying no. I loved watching the sky turn blue again, and hearing the sound of silence outside my door. I never lacked for anything to keep myself busy, and spent heaps of time realizing how lucky I was. And oh yes, I published a book while I was at it, and prayed for those affected by Covid, and those who kept the world turning for the duration. Even now, I am grateful that it served to reboot the world, and shows us a renewed vision of a world built on love, peace, and harmony. Thank you for saying what many have probably been thinking,Todd.
Awesome Julia! Beautiful comment and congratulations on the book! Is there a link to it? I’d love to learn more about it 😎
I felt the same way when they closed Norway for the first time. I enjoyed every minute of my time. The second time they closed the country I was a bit more stressed because of the money. And I really like that people are honest. Like you know in this post. Many times during the Covid I felt there was no room for honesty. There was Either Or mentality that was kind of influencing the whole situation and nothing in between, if you see what I mean?
I do. Sadly, many people in my country seem to be limited to “either/or” thinking. It’s a very frustrating and ineffective way to view the world.
This post speaks perfectly to the “role” of work/employment in our lives. For most of us, it deprives us of truly living, being intentional within the time we spend with others, and finding ourselves. Not having money and gaining access to tangibles, but having the time to really discover who we are.
Great point Le Roi- thanks for reading!