Finding Joy in Simplicity

This slow-down has made me reminiscent of the days when I used to visit my grandparents.  Those laid-back, wonderful days were filled with the simple joys we are now rediscovering as a family.  We are now spending our time taking family walks in the evenings,  afternoons fishing, staying up late playing board games, honing our culinary skills and working on our green thumbs.  I have fond memories from my childhood doing all of these things, but for my kids and their crazy schedules, these types of things seemed more of a burden to fit into our previously jam packed lives.

I know it might sound a little selfish saying this, but I love not having to share my kids with the the rest of the world for just a little bit longer. While the situation is not great, and my heart breaks for so many others, I do feel pretty good about stealing a little time back from life… they can grow up later! Of course this is how I feel in the moment, but ask me how I am feeling about it after a few more months of doing it. I’d wager you can only grow so many veggies and cook so many dishes before some sort of madness sets in, but in the meantime I am going to milk this quarantine thing as much as possible.

As much as we’ve made the best of things and have stolen back some time, I really do miss some of the old “normal.” I miss seeing my friends and family outside of a little video screen. I miss traveling. Oh my God I miss traveling! I can’t remember our last date night, going out to eat, or a good get-together with friends. I do look forward to things getting back to normal, but I also don’t want to lose what we have found. There is something to be said for finding joy in simplicity. My new goal is to take on the “new normal” while holding on to the “less.” I refuse to lose our evening walks, our family bike rides, or our game nights. I will never go back to trying to fit those things in. Right now is the time to identify what is important to us — because soon enough the excesses of life will begin rushing back in. Let’s use this time to build some sort of mental beacon that will keep us grounded as life, once again, spins back up.