Takeaways from a Pandemic

Today I am grateful for bananas, one of my daily breakfast staples, and yogurt, one of my daily lunch staples. I so appreciate that my family and I have access to food and the ease in getting it.

There are people hungry in our community and around the world.  Besides donating food items, another way I can help is to not waste the food in front of me. The pandemic has worsened hunger issues for many people, in part because of the financial strain of jobs lost and the impact of health concerns. 

As we near the year mark of when the pandemic really started changing our daily lives, a hunger we share is the hunger for return to normal. It isn't going to be tomorrow or next week, but there's hope on the horizon. It won't be the normal we once knew, and that is okay too. 

Sometimes I feel weary and depressed with it all. Sometimes I feel amazed by the resiliency of human nature. Sometimes I feel a jumbled mix of jumbled emotions. Still, I can look back on the last year and note some positive takeaways:

*More family time with my husband and son, and more meals shared and prepared together. We have always been good about family meals, but they took on new comfort.

*I learned to use technology in new ways, both on a personal level and through my job. Zoom is one key example. I do experience Zoom fatigue, but I also experience the pleasure of connecting with people across the miles and being able to see their entire face. Sunday sister Zooms are a regular and cherished part of our routine now.

*People in recovery are a gritty people. As the saying goes "We didn't get saved from drowning to get kicked to death on the beach."  The challenges of the pandemic are being met with reliable daily tools and we are staying connected to our lifelines in new ways. 

*My salvations in life became even more appreciated and necessary to my well-being: exercise, Nature, writing. I sometimes enjoy them in solitude, and this year also extended my reach in sharing these times and activities with others, especially writing.

The pandemic has taken much from us. Yet, the circumstances presented have also presented opportunities we wouldn't have reached on our own. There is grace and gratitude to be found in trying times.

If you listed some of your pandemic takeaways, what would they be?