Observations since I started staying home.

So yesterday, it occurred to me that I have been staying at home for exactly a month. As with everything in this strange time we’re all living through at the moment, it occurred to me that it feels like a lifetime ago, when it’s actually been just a bit over 30 days since I became an actual Sylvanian Family character.

With this in mind, and seeing my blog as a way to preserve what I was doing at this time for future generations to come, I’ve been keeping a handwritten list of general observations of this time, what it’s taught me, and what I hope we’ll all learn from this going forward.

• Bird song, bees humming and the gentle breeze in the trees has never sounded so crystal clear.
• Hand drawn rainbows in windows should be a thing for the spring and summer months every year going forward. Because they’re lovely and cheering.
• Clapping for all those keeping us and the country safe at 8pm every Thursday is so moving and unifying, and something I would miss greatly if it wasn’t there after this time passed.
• Somehow, technology has still made it possible for people to do ridiculous things, albeit in the confines of their own four walls. This includes, but is not limited to, terrible haircuts and hair colouring, bizarre handstands whilst attempting to put a T-shirt back on, and attempting to neck an alcoholic beverage in one sitting. Webcam optional.
• Revisiting books from your childhood, whether via physical copies or on a Kindle, is heavenly, and a reminder of the escapist power of reading. As we discovered re-reading The Queen’s Nose the other night.
• Colouring in, playing with Lego, or making something craft based reminds you that the youthful joy of play is so needed, even in the straitjacket of adult life.
• There’s a difference between keeping informed as you need to be, and being overwhelmed by headlines that go straight for the coin – and fear – grabbing jugular.
• It is still possible to tell what day of the week it is. I know that sounds bizarre but it’s true.
• People who are honest and true and loving and emphatic of others have come into their own at a time like this. On the contrary, those that are using this time as a chance to brush their wider problems under the carpet and their negative energy out into force and onto others, especially those who might already be suffering, are not.
• My relationship with social media has changed. I question the kindness and humanity of some platforms over another, and whether I want to patronize these as frequently as I used to when this time passes.
• Hope and faith are so powerful, two positive contagions that are our greatest forces for good.
• There’s no right or wrong way to feel. And in fact, allowing yourself to feel negative feelings are absolutely fine. It’s how you deal with them and control them that determines your approach to wider adversity.
• If in doubt, listening to music from a time you feel fondly about is a great healer, and a reminder of the joyful times, like those you had, which will come again. Thank God for Spice Girls, Fleetwood Mac and Enya.
• Humanity and social interaction still exists. A voice on a phone call, a joke over a WhatsApp message, or a friendly face of a loved one on your mobile or tablet screen. Somehow those moments seem even more precious than before.
• It is possible to continue supporting small businesses and organisations from the tap of your phone or click of your mouse from your sofa/bed/kitchen table (delete as applicable).
• My wider purpose and what I bring to the world and what legacy I want to leave has never been more clearer.
• My mum still does great haircuts, even though it’s been seven years since she last cut it for me.
• Dinner times – in fact, make that all the times I eat together with my parents – remind me of the social and comforting importance of good meals to break up the day and evoke fond memories as well as creating new ones.
• Prayer and spiritual connection with God and my Christian beliefs have always been important, but they have never been as important to me as they are now.
• So much can be done from home, more than people even thought possible prior to a month ago.
• Laughing at my own bad jokes is even more mood lifting than I thought it could be.
• You find how much your world, and your view of it, can change for the better when you choose what people, and what positive inspirations you keep in it.