The past year has been horrifyingly tragic, whether we got sick, lost a loved one, or merely had to witness the suffering of others; it’s taken a huge collective toll, psychically and emotionally. That’s why it’s a little hard to write about the blessings of the past year. Many of us finally had the time and space to do some serious soul searching and life evaluation; a gift for which I am filled with gratitude daily.
One of my intentions for the future is to hang onto my newly discovered resourcefulness. For those of us old enough to have been raised by Depression survivors, we absorbed a lot of these skills and the thinking that goes with them, even while we made fun of them growing up. As someone guilty of knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing in my younger years, I realize that our throw away, Walmartized, get-it-cheaper mentality is a huge part of the destruction of our planet, and with that, ourselves.
During my pandemic retreat, I had plenty of time to clean closets, organize craft and art supplies and actually finish some projects. I also learned to be much more frugal because of the uncertainty of the economy. I found myself shopping online for something, and realizing “Hey, I could use this (fill in the blank) instead!” It’s as if all the psychic space that used to be taken up by my social calendar, mindless Facebook scrolling (more on this in a later post), and how to navigate traffic at 8:00 am and 5:00 pm was cleared out and replaced with a truckload of ingenuity. I hope we never go back to “normal”!
I also had lots of time to watch travel shows, many of which centered on food and cooking. I used to believe that I hated cooking. As it turns out, I just never had enough time and I had more than enough distractions. I tend to not follow recipes (at least after the first time) and I’ve surprised myself at being able to watch a television version of something being made and giving it my own spin. My couscous finally has some flavor! You can google Sicilian Couscous recipes and make your own. Sadly, getting fresh caught sardines for a true Sicilian couscous is probably not in the cards anytime soon.
Another lesson from hours of watching home improvement shows is that no trend will keep you satisfied in your home for long. For me, decorating the home should come from what makes me happy and comfortable – and what I can comfortably afford. I think we need to stop using the term “dated” when critiquing our interior spaces. There is an entire industry built on Mid-century modern homes, furniture and accessories. So, at what point does “dated” become “vintage and valuable”? It’s also become sadly apparent that pre-pandemic, we all spent most of our lives away from home – expensive homes that we rarely got to enjoy because we spent so much time at work, getting to work, or thinking about work. Again, I don’t want to go back to normal.
Currently, the “Modern Farmhouse” is having a moment, and that’s great if that’s what you like. It’s not my style and I won’t let a “designer” push it on me. Right now, I am still updating our 27 year-old home, and at my age now, there are some things that just don’t need to be “high-end”. Not if it means giving up a trip to Europe soon. These are the choices that I finally had the quiet time to make with the pandemic opening up a whole new inner world and quieting all the noise from outside myself. Nope. Don’t wanna go back to normal.
This past year I was able to get out in my yard and do a lot of manual labor which I would have had to pay for had I still been doing time in an outside office. Not only was it incredibly satisfying, I lost 10 lbs without giving up pasta. Again, the expanded awareness and consciousness born of this year of lock down and quarantine is a gift that I want to guard and cherish. If going back to normal means going back to auto-pilot and the low grade depression that comes from living by rote, no thanks.
We need to remember that our financial and environmental health is every bit as a important as our physical, mental and emotional health. If we continue with our patterns of unbridled and often unconscious consumption, there will be no “normal” to which to go back.
Before
After
My $10.00 find at Consign Furniture Reno. The pillow was purchased at Grocery Outlet, Spanish Springs.
My favorite shows include: Huang’s World – on Vice, Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy on CNN, Escape to the Chateau – HGTV, Restaurants on the Edge – Netflix, 100 Day Dream Home – HGTV, World’s Most Extraordinary Homes – Netflix.