Silver Linings: Covid
In some cases, the more things have changed the more they’ve stayed the same. But while many people seem to enjoy focusing on all the negatives these last (how many) months, I am always trying to find the bright side to things. And, in doing so, I have unexpectedly found several silver linings to my Covid world.
Let’s start with my weight loss and overall health. I am now nearly 10 months out from surgery. A few weeks ago, I had my follow up with nursing and am happy to report that I have surpassed their expectations! The weight loss goal they set is to lose 60% of your excess weight by 12 months post-op. At only 9 months out, at the time, I had already lost 66% of my excess weight and will continue to lose until 12-18 months out. I firmly believe that I would not have been this successful had I been at work because I wouldn’t have had the discipline that I am able to have at home. Re-learning how to nourish yourself is a long process. For me, it involves reading every single label, modifying recipes, measuring out my food, and changing the relationship that I have with food. At work, I wouldn’t have had the time to properly re-learn all these things, and while my lunches/snacks would have been pre-made, snacking is always possible when you aren’t as mindful as you can be. Cue stress, mindlessness, unpredictable days and boxes of cookies and donuts in the staff kitchen! Obviously, I still need to figure out how to adapt everything I have learned into the usual routine of going to work, but I have plenty of time for that it seems!
Christmas… I know, I know, Scrooge took it away, everything sucks, we can’t see family, and yada, yada… but it doesn’t have to be that way, so stop getting your tinsel in a tangle! Honestly, I have been dreaming of this Christmas for as long as I can remember. Maybe not one filled with the threat of Covid, but one where we get to stay home in our pajamas all day and not run around from house to house with chaos ensuing. One where we can move along at our own pace, go tobogganing if there is any snow, go for a nature walk, make some popcorn and watch a Christmas movie, make some hot chocolate with marshmallows, and heck maybe even take a nap! Our Premier recently suggested it, and while most people laughed, scoffed and made jokes about, I couldn’t agree more! Pick up the phone, call the ones you love, throw in a video conference or ten, but just stop the drama! Christmas is only “taken from you” if you allow it to be. Go watch The Grinch, you’ll learn a thing or two. The highlight of my day will always be seeing my LO’s face light up first thing on Christmas morning; and it’s usually all downhill from there, but not this year! (And before I get attacked for saying all of this, I realize that this is not the popular opinion! Everyone's family situations are different - this pertains to mine, and mine alone).
In a strange way, this is the calm before the storm for our family. Come September we go from daycare to Kindergarten and big transitions are never easy. Will we go back to work as well, or will we still be working remotely? Who knows! But working from home would be the best way to ease all the transitions for me and, if given the option, I would like to do it at least half of the time moving forward! With an hour-long commute to and from work, I have never been able to consider sending my child to school on the bus with her friends and greeting her at the bus stop at the end of the day the way my mom did for me. In fact, I have been dreading the concept of dropping her off to the school daycare at 7:30am only to pick her up past 5:00pm, and then having to rush home to make supper and do homework afterwards too! I realize these days will come, eventually, but I think it would be nice for her (and me) to start this new journey with as little stress as possible and the semblance of a “stay at home mom” too. Plus, who wants to be doing homework so late at night? Not me! Also, with the start of school came the dreaded conversation about putting an end to weekly mid-week family dinners with the in-laws. That conversation will still be unpleasant, I’m sure, but at least now we have 10 months of proof that weekly dinners are not a matter of life and death!
Let’s start with my weight loss and overall health. I am now nearly 10 months out from surgery. A few weeks ago, I had my follow up with nursing and am happy to report that I have surpassed their expectations! The weight loss goal they set is to lose 60% of your excess weight by 12 months post-op. At only 9 months out, at the time, I had already lost 66% of my excess weight and will continue to lose until 12-18 months out. I firmly believe that I would not have been this successful had I been at work because I wouldn’t have had the discipline that I am able to have at home. Re-learning how to nourish yourself is a long process. For me, it involves reading every single label, modifying recipes, measuring out my food, and changing the relationship that I have with food. At work, I wouldn’t have had the time to properly re-learn all these things, and while my lunches/snacks would have been pre-made, snacking is always possible when you aren’t as mindful as you can be. Cue stress, mindlessness, unpredictable days and boxes of cookies and donuts in the staff kitchen! Obviously, I still need to figure out how to adapt everything I have learned into the usual routine of going to work, but I have plenty of time for that it seems!
Christmas… I know, I know, Scrooge took it away, everything sucks, we can’t see family, and yada, yada… but it doesn’t have to be that way, so stop getting your tinsel in a tangle! Honestly, I have been dreaming of this Christmas for as long as I can remember. Maybe not one filled with the threat of Covid, but one where we get to stay home in our pajamas all day and not run around from house to house with chaos ensuing. One where we can move along at our own pace, go tobogganing if there is any snow, go for a nature walk, make some popcorn and watch a Christmas movie, make some hot chocolate with marshmallows, and heck maybe even take a nap! Our Premier recently suggested it, and while most people laughed, scoffed and made jokes about, I couldn’t agree more! Pick up the phone, call the ones you love, throw in a video conference or ten, but just stop the drama! Christmas is only “taken from you” if you allow it to be. Go watch The Grinch, you’ll learn a thing or two. The highlight of my day will always be seeing my LO’s face light up first thing on Christmas morning; and it’s usually all downhill from there, but not this year! (And before I get attacked for saying all of this, I realize that this is not the popular opinion! Everyone's family situations are different - this pertains to mine, and mine alone).
In a strange way, this is the calm before the storm for our family. Come September we go from daycare to Kindergarten and big transitions are never easy. Will we go back to work as well, or will we still be working remotely? Who knows! But working from home would be the best way to ease all the transitions for me and, if given the option, I would like to do it at least half of the time moving forward! With an hour-long commute to and from work, I have never been able to consider sending my child to school on the bus with her friends and greeting her at the bus stop at the end of the day the way my mom did for me. In fact, I have been dreading the concept of dropping her off to the school daycare at 7:30am only to pick her up past 5:00pm, and then having to rush home to make supper and do homework afterwards too! I realize these days will come, eventually, but I think it would be nice for her (and me) to start this new journey with as little stress as possible and the semblance of a “stay at home mom” too. Plus, who wants to be doing homework so late at night? Not me! Also, with the start of school came the dreaded conversation about putting an end to weekly mid-week family dinners with the in-laws. That conversation will still be unpleasant, I’m sure, but at least now we have 10 months of proof that weekly dinners are not a matter of life and death!
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