FIVE UNEXPECTED BENEFITS FROM THE PANDEMIC(THE PANDEMEFITS)
The pandemic has tested my family’s sanity. We’ve turned our house into a joint office / daycare center. We multitask endless zoom calls alongside dishwasher unloading, toddler butt wiping (video off) and remote happy hours (video on).
We’ve never had more stress, more arguments, or more isolation. The word “bubble” once made me think of children’s laughter as they ran to catch soapy rainbows. Now that word just feels restrictive.
However…there IS a bright side to our Quarantine Life. There are many Pandemefits (Pandemic benefits). They are not just short term positives, but learnings we can use to architect a better future, post pandemic.
MY TOP FIVE PANDEMEFITS
- My partner and I have kept our jobs. Unlike many front line and service workers, we are able to work remotely. This is something we always secretly wanted to do, but couldn’t because of our corporate ‘Face Time’ cultures. Now ‘facetime’ is in fact on FaceTime. Or Zoom. Or Google Hangout or <insert any remote videoconference tool here>. For people like us, the workforce will be forever changed. I look forward to a hybrid model in 2021 where our teams can better balance office time and home time.
- I’m more politically aware and active. Because I am home all the time, I have more time to listen to NPR, BBC and read. Due to the #BLM movement, I now follow leaders and news sources I never knew existed before. Rachel Cargle and Unicorn Riot to name a few. I am starting to grasp different versions of reality and have embarked upon a leatning journey to forever change my relation to the world and my proactive place in it. (learn, volunteer, protest, donate, change, rinse and repeat)
- Mini hugs. With kids at home, I can sneak in hugs multiple times a day. No meeting is stressful with a little person around the corner. My daughter helps me keep things in perspective. And if I get overly stressed, my little girl can come and sit on my lap. Forget Xanax. Mini hugs are the best way to melt stress.
- The pandemic has redefined family structure. For us, it’s been in a good, more inclusive way. My parents now stay for weeks on end, creating a temporary multifamily living situation. My relationship with my stepson’s…