A pandemic bit of gratitude.

Thank you all for your kind words regarding the yard.  The possibilities that this yard offered was one of the many reasons that we chose this house a few years ago.  And yes, it IS a lot of work.  What you can't really see from the pictures in the last post is that the big bed - and the other beds have been neglected horribly.

And that's where the gratitude comes in - this pandemic, while definitely terrifying, has given me a chance to actually spend time out in the yard.  And the time to appreciate the beauty.

In the before time, I spent the majority of my time in the office.  Only able to do yard work and/or appreciate my peony or my roses on the weekend.  And really, who wants to spend their entire weekend doing yard work, chores and errands?  Not me.

In the now, I can spend an hour or two (or four) out in the yard getting things done (which, unfortunately means the house is a wreck!  At this point, I figure, I'll deal with the house on rainy days!) while the weather is nice - not hot or humid yet.  Which shifts my work hours a bit.  Sure, I may spend a morning laying out cardboard and mulch; but then I find myself spending the afternoon and late evening working past my normal "quitting" time.  And Saturday or Sunday means a few hours in the office by myself doing some tidying up (dealing with mail, etc. - basically stuff I can't do from home).

Today found me mulching a portion of one of the beds and I realized...I am actually enjoying this new work/life balance so much.  And this from someone who actually likes her job.  I am enjoying being able to take care of things around the house whenever rather than waiting for a weekend.

I am REALLY enjoying watching the peony's progress day by day.

I realize that I may be in the minority here - but fortunately for me, I'm here alone all day.  I am not having to supervise a child's education - or chase a toddler around the house while trying to work.  I am not having to deal with a spouse trying to have a conference call while I'm working, supervising school work and chase a toddler.

So while I still find myself in a blind panic when I have to venture into a store - wearing the face mask makes me more panicky than if I wasn't; is that just me? I wear it because I know I should but still - MORE panicky - I am able to see some of the benefits of this slowing down of life for me.

And while I'm ready to show this COVID-19 to the door ASAP; I'm also hoping that the standard business model will change drastically for most corporate offices.  We are seeing how beneficial our staying home is to the air quality - not to mention our wallets - our Shell bill just came in - it was only $50-ish versus $200 plus.  And then there is the flexibility to handle home issues when it is convenient for the employees; not confined to weekends and weather.

From my perspective, our company is continuing to chug along just fine with the majority of us working from home - the snags I have run into are few.  I'm hoping those running the companies are seeing this as a new benefit to offer employees and that they run with it.

You know what else I will be taking full advantage of even when this is all over?  Curbside delivery and home delivery.

That is AMAZING.

Yes, Amazon was all over the home delivery from the beginning.  But looking around at the various, local businesses that were able to switch over, seemingly seamlessly, is astounding.  Let's also hope that this practice continues after this pandemic is behind us.

All that being said, yes.  I have my down days.  I miss going to a restaurant.  I really miss having my favorite people over.  I miss having lunch with my favorite colleagues.  I miss...well, I miss ALL of it really.

But I'm finally able to enjoy my space - at my own pace.  My little slice of heaven - and that is a bit of gratitude that I have been able to wrench out of this nightmare that we are currently living.

Stay safe.  Wash your hands.  And look for the good bits where you can find them.  Virtual hugs to you all.