Gratitude in 2020

This morning while showering I found myself thinking about some of the positives that have resulted from "quarantining" these past 10 months.  I feel like we often see a lot of "gloom and doom" in the news because, well, the pandemic is nothing to be thrilled about, but "gloom and doom" is also sensationalist and, I think as human beings, we gravitate towards that.

So, in an effort to combat some of those feelings, I thought I'd put together a list of positives of being home way more often these days.  This is in no way an attempt to play the life comparison game.  Instead, hopefully this will inspire you to look back and find something these past 10 months that made you happy or that you're grateful for.  I'm focusing on mid-March through the end of 2020.

General Life

I'm thankful that I have a job, a roof over my head, and am in good health.  I'm thankful that I have a supportive husband and that we've been able to get along even though we spend so much time together in a 2-bedroom condo!  I'm also thankful that we have the cutest pet cat and that my family is also in good health.

Health

Before the pandemic I had thankfully already invested in at-home workout equipment in the form of weights, bands, and subscription service-based workouts that I could stream.  But mid-summer we decided to invest in a spin bike (a Schwinn that works with the Peloton app, more or less) and a bike trainer for my husband to use with Zwift.  It has been so nice to use these in the safety of our home, and we are grateful that we were even able to find these available for purchase.  If you've also tried to purchase exercise equipment during the pandemic, then you know exactly what I mean!

Hobbies

I read so much more last year than I ever have as an adult.  I crushed my Goodreads goal and found out that I actually really enjoy nonfiction.  Some of my favorite nonfiction books that I read in 2020 include Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, Trouble Water: What's Wrong with What We Drink by Seth M. Siegel, and Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure by Don and Petie Kladstrup.

I learned how to make tofu.  I know sourdough bread and banana bread were trending topics, and I did all that, but I'm most proud of learning how to make tofu!  Surprisingly, it isn't difficult to make.  It just takes patience, mainly because you have to soak the dried beans overnight at a minimum.  I do advise purchasing a cheap tofu press.

Travel

Obviously not much of this happened.  However, we are incredibly fortunate to have family homes in Maine and Florida in areas that aren't as populated as where we live in northern Virginia, so we took two road trips to Maine and one to Florida.  It was such a nice mental break to be somewhere other than our condo.  We are so glad we did this (even though the drive to Florida is soooo long).  We even got to see two dear friends in Florida (socially distanced in their back yard of course) who we hadn't seen in several years, which was fantastic.

Now, maybe if I could somehow find the motivation to update my blog more often!