4 Reasons I Will Miss the Lockdown
Once the shock of the quarantine wore off, there was some sort of weird acceptance that happened. And then gratitude. There are four specific things that I'll miss when the lockdown is completely over.
Don't socialize, don't travel, don't go to your favorite restaurant, don't touch 99 percent of surfaces, don't go to the grocery store unless you absolutely have to, and don't expect to find toilet paper when you get there...
There were so many don'ts associated with the lockdown, it's amazing that anything positive at all could come out of the situation. But I did find a few things.
Forty-one percent of people across the country said there were aspects of lockdown they would definitely miss, according to the gadget folks at EverydayCarry.com. Idaho wasn't quite as excited about the lockdown and will be less sad to see it end. Just 26% of Gem State residents said they will miss parts of lockdown life. I'm one of them.
4 Reasons I Will Miss the Lockdown
1. Au naturel. I've never been one to wear a ton of makeup, but I wore even less during the lockdown and it felt great. Hair in a bun, yoga pants, and no mascara makes a girl feel ten times more relaxed I found. Oh, and I read that a lot of you went naked around the house every day and that's fantastic. For you.
2. Fewer Mom duties. There were no school lunches to make, no practices to run off to after school, and also, well, no school. At least ten things were scratched off the daily to-do list because the kids didn't leave the house, and that made life much simpler and easier. It also makes me question whether I'll ever be able to ramp up to the old level again, once things resume. But then, moms never really know how they're going to do it. They just do it.
3. Forced saving. I saved $500 or more between March and May simply by not doing things. I went nine weeks without filling up my gas tank. My gym was closed and they refunded membership fees from mid-March through May 31. We saved on entertainment expenses because all of our favorite bowling alleys and movie theaters were closed. I missed all of those things like crazy, but saving was the silver lining.
4. Forced rest. I ended up giving up on the idea that I should always be doing something because there wasn't much to do. Once I cleaned the master closet and weeded the landscape beds, I sat on the couch and it was fantastic. And then I sat some more and binge-watched Grace and Frankie, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Fuller House, and read magazines while sipping Tito's with lime and Diet Coke. That was nice.
This whole thing has helped me find a new normal that I hope becomes my default way to live. We tend to think the way it used to be was awesome and we'll be deprived if we can't get back to it, but maybe new can be better, at least in a few ways. Like less makeup and more time for Tito's.
Some things that America has been grateful for during lockdown, according to Everydaycarry.com.
-- 45% - the opportunity to spend more time with family
-- 35% - the sense of community spirit that's emerged
-- 9% - the decrease in pollution
-- 6% - home improvements
-- 3% - more sleep