Like many of us, I had to learn to adapt to our new life during the pandemic, some of us, I would say, might have handled it better than others. I can personally say that I had a hard time during the pandemic for numerous reasons. One reason was my health, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which made it very scary for me at the time , especially without the vaccine because I was on medication that suppresses my immune system. This put me at a higher risk than others. I am also married to physician who was testing covid patients and was on the Covid task force at the time .
I worried a lot for his safety but also for myself of him possibly bringing home Covid to me.
Not only did I have to be extra careful due to my health condition but we had recently moved to a new state only five months prior to COVID-19, which meant I had no friends, no family, no support system, and no job.
I felt very lonely and very isolated.
I knew I had to get creative to stay mentally and physically healthy. (And trust me, I’m still working on that)
However, a few things did help me. I have always enjoyed gardening (I like to think I have a green thumb) so I definitely expanded my garden over the pandemic. I planted certain shrubs and flowers that would attract hummingbirds, regular birds, bumblebees and also butterflies. Being outside with nature and getting my hands dirty has always made me feel very relaxed and stress-free. But with that being said, gardens are hard to maintain so it helped me to get out of the house.
Another thing My husband and I would do together was find different places to go hiking. We have so many parks, mountains and greenways here! Each location would be so different than the last, so exploring was so fun AND it helped burn some calories when the gyms were closed!
And lastly, my absolute favorite thing we did during the pandemic was go into the city and buy coffee and donuts for some of the homeless. We also found the places that they call “tent city” which we donated a bunch of blankets, clothing and food to. I had sent out a text message to some of the local neighbors that I had met and asked if anyone would like to donate for the next time we were to go and to my surprise every single house on my street had put out 1 to 3 boxes at the end of their driveway for us to pick up (socially distant of course) to bring to tent city. My trunk was full and so were our hearts!
Life is tough and if I learned anything in the last year or two it is that I am stronger than I think and It’s also okay to ask for help (even if it’s uncomfortable to do so).
-Janine