Life: 10 Silver Linings to Lockdown

I have to of course preface this blogpost by saying that I would never have wanted this whole situation to happen but for me, there have been a few silver linings to come out of lockdown so I thought I’d share for a bit of positivity!

1) It’s been so lovely to have weeks of time of just Chris, Florence and I. We adore our families and see them a lot, and if we had a quiet weekend we would rarely stay home and chill but would drive ten minutes down the road to see my parents. We love doing that but it has also been really nice to just be the three of us and to really feel settled as a family of three. Florence has adored having so much time with both of us. We’ve also made an effort to eat together at the weekends and is something that we will continue as I’m a big fan of sitting around the table, eating and chatting. I also like how when you eat at 5pm, you have the whole evening free and don’t have to worry about dinner!

2) The slower pace of life. I think a lot of people would agree that the slower pace of life that has been forced onto us has been really refreshing. My calendar which was filled with busy weekends and weekly appointments was instantly wiped out and it made me feel so calm! I love having adventures and things to look forward to but it’s been nice to just know that the day will be spent chilling in the garden and going on a long walk. We don’t have to go out and do anything.

3) Finding a new hobby. With the extra time that I found myself having, I wanted to do something that wasn’t just watching lots of TV and scrolling on my phone so after seeing my friend Holly share a paint by numbers that she’d bought, I decided to order one for myself and I have enjoyed doing it so much! I set it up in our dining room and would put on a podcast and immerse myself in painting. I’m really rubbish at freestyle painting so having a guide is perfect for me. It’s also turned out so much better than I thought! Apparently these kind of hobbies are great as they require concentration but aren’t difficult, and you are achieving something too. My next one is on its way to me!

My Paint by Numbers masterpiece!

4) Aside from the first week when Florence was poorly, she has been blissfully free of illness. Not even a sniffle! No germs from nursery or soft play has been wonderful – although slightly nervous now about what it will be like when she is faced with them again!

5) Time for the house. Having more free weekends has meant more time to do things around the house – we have jet washed the patio, put up pictures, painted our gates and have done lots of gardening.

6) Having Chris home all of the time. In ‘normal life’ my husband Chris works and stays in London two nights a week and since the end of March he has been back home with us full time and it’s been so nice! Especially now we are into the swing of it and have a nice routine going.

7) Catching up with friends much more. I’ve never had so many catch-ups with friends – we keep saying that it’s crazy that it’s taken a pandemic for us to start having video calls. Usually it takes months to find a free date to meet so it’s been a bonus having everyone readily available (on the most part!). It’s calmed down a little now but I’ve enjoyed the many quizzes and a highlight was definitely the virtual horse racing that my friend arranged for his birthday. We all got very into it!

8) Saving money. I don’t know about anyone else but we are managing to save money every month. It makes sense seeing as we aren’t paying for our bigger outgoings like nursery, Chris’ train tickets and petrol. Most of it is going on Amazon panic buys and food! It’s been a lovely plus side to be able to put money away.

9) Getting to know our neighbours. We have been in our house for a couple of years now but I feel like we have really got to know our neighbours over the past few weeks and I love the community feel we have. I’ve had so many chats with neighbours whilst on our daily walks and the weekly Thursday clap has been a great little moment.

10) Appreciating the little things. I think overall, lockdown has taught me what is really important. Chris’ parents asked us what we had been missing the most and for me it’s 100% the family time – seeing Florence with the people who love her most brings me such joy and I can’t wait to have those moments back in our lives. It’s also taught me how much I love the little things like having my hair highlighted and popping into my Mum’s for a cup of tea! I can’t wait to be able to enjoy these things again.