I’ve said this a few times already, but we have been doing isolation/quarantine for a quarter of a year now. When it all started, I know some people thought it would only be for 2 weeks, but I felt like it would be at least for a month. And if things were locked down more or cases were tracked and managed better, maybe we would have been in a better situation after a month. But things weren’t as strict as many they needed to be. And I know that if things were stricter, people would have been more upset. It can’t be easy to find the balance of protecting people but allowing them to not feel like they are trapped or not free. I wish that more places would require masks since that seems to be the way to manage this. But so many people are protesting against them (which I really don’t understand).
Even though things are reopening here, I really do fear that they will need to be shut down again or that more people will be getting sick and we will run out of hospital beds. That’s why I’m pretty much staying home all the time even though I don’t need to. I do have other reasons why I’m doing almost a full quarantine, but the main one is that I know that limiting my exposure to others is one thing I can do to manage the spread.
But being home almost 24/7 for 3 months hasn’t been easy. I’ve talked about the isolation and toll on my mental health it has taken. I’ve been working on finding ways to handle that and I do have more good days than I did before. But I do still have days that I struggle. I don’t worry too much about those bad days because I know I’m not alone in them. And when I’m feeling down, I do try to think of good things I have accomplished by being home.
Sadly, that list of things I have done is pretty short. I have done a lot of cleaning and reorganizing, but at the same time, I have spent money that I didn’t expect to spend. I know I’m saving money on other things so it should balance out, so that’s good. And I am happier with how things look in my house. Even though I haven’t changed much, it does feel like a refreshed home and that does make me feel like I’ve been able to make my home feel even more like me.
Another good thing I try to remind myself about is how I am cooking more. I have a few recipes that I feel very comfortable with that I don’t really need a recipe. I know what ingredients I need and I can put them together quickly. They aren’t anything fancy, but it does feel good that I know I can make a meal quickly and easily if I make sure I stock the things I need at home. I still want to branch out more with my cooking, but it’s much better than it was before.
I’ve also been working on trying to be better about what I am eating. I still am struggling and I’m not going to hide the fact that I have gained weight (the combination of not eating the best and also not working out as hard hasn’t been good for me). But I do want to try to pick healthier things when I can. And while I don’t avoid fruits and vegetables, I want to make sure I add more to my day. One way I’ve been doing that lately is making smoothies each morning.
I’ve had a good blender with an individual cup attachment for a while. But I just never used it that much. But I decided now is the time to do it. And the smoothies I’m making aren’t anything too crazy. I use a frozen banana, some fresh spinach (which I do freeze to keep it good longer), some Greek yogurt, almond milk, and peanut butter powder (I started with using real peanut butter, but the powder is healthier). So I’m getting in a serving of fruit and vegetables with each one plus some protein. They look just like any other green smoothie and they taste like one of my favorite smoothies from Jamba Juice.
I’m usually not a big breakfast person, but this is easier on my body to tolerate in the morning. I don’t know yet if this helps me enough with my food choices for the rest of the day, but I know it probably can’t hurt. The calorie count isn’t that high and it’s healthy. So I figure it’s a good thing to have most mornings and hopefully, it will have more benefits as I get used to having them.
I don’t feel like I’ve gotten much else done while staying home other than watching a lot of TV and reading a lot of books. I don’t feel as productive as I would like to, but I also know that the productivity that I had before isn’t necessarily feasible right now. I can’t compare myself now to what I was able to do last year since I don’t have the same options. So while I might not have done much over the past 3 months, I have stayed healthy. And I have gotten a few random things done or new potential habits started. And I should be grateful for those little things because they are victories for now.
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