Never in my wildest nightmares did I ever fathom I would go through times like we are living right now. It is unbelievable to think that an invisible enemy, microscopic, ever so small would be the thing to bring the entire world to its knees. But the life changes COVID brought us are not all bad.

APPRECIATE EVERY MOMENT

Yes, it’s cliche, but every moment counts. All of it. Good or bad. And it’s because I’ve been deprived of some of these moments, big and small, that I realized just how much they matter. My mother was diagnosed with Cancer last February. She lives in Quebec, and so, it has been a challenging situation. I fully realize that, if this pandemic hadn’t hit, I would be spending time with her often, but I would probably feel sad and would curse her illness rather than focus on being present, with her, helping her, loving her through it all. I was robbed of the opportunity to do that, but I appreciate what I can do from afar, and when I do see her next, I will fully soak in the moment.

SHIFT YOUR PRIORITIES

Nothing matters more than people, especially those you live with. Make them a priority. Your kid wants to show you a silly tiktok video while you are working from home? Put work on hold. It can wait. Cherish those dinner discussions, no matter how silly they get.

LEARN NEW THINGS AND ADAPT

Many of us have had plenty of down time and down time is a good time to learn news skills. For example, I’ve brushed up on my video skills and I’ve learned how to make an app during the last months. Now I can take this new ability and integrate it to my business.

WASTE LESS

I don’t know if it’s because of the uncertainty of everything at the beginning of the pandemic, but stocking up food and toilet paper in the early stages made me want to really pay attention to my waste management. My family used to throw away way too much. We are now more conscientious and try to find new, creative and alternative ways of using, reusing, recycling, re-purposing.

SLEEP MORE

I used to think sleep was overrated. Now, I know it’s not. It’s regenerating. It’s reconstructive. I have been getting 7-8 hours of sleep since the beginning of the pandemic and I find that I am much more alert, aware and productive. The kids also have been sleeping a lot. Perhaps a little too much… But they are in a much better mood. I am lucky that they have been dealing with the situation fairly well and that their mental health seem to be just fine. They laugh a lot.

HUMAN CONTACT CONNECTS US

Unreal how we took human contact for granted. I miss hugs. I miss handshakes. They keep us connected. I miss not being less than 6 feet away from any other human being. I love my family and get plenty of hugs here, thank God, but I miss seeing smiles and touching people. Now I sound like a creep!

FREEDOM BABY

I am not an overly social person. I like my time alone. I did go out to events a lot, but mainly because it’s part of my job to do so and I thought I didn’t really need social interactions. Turns out I am really craving it now. Not having the freedom to go to a theater, a music concert or even just a restaurant when I feel like it made me realize how much I really love these things.

AND FINALLY, HEALTH IS EVERYTHING

We hear this all the time. Health is priceless. You can’t buy it. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. We know this, but we don’t really know it until something happens, because disease is usually kept at bay. The pandemic has brought this to light for me in a way that I can no longer ignore. I could get ill at any time, so I need to take better care of my health. I need to boost my immune system. I need to care for my eyes and my teeth. I need to move my body. I need to stop procrastinating.

Remember. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Don’t dwell on the past. Don’t worry about the future. Live for today, one day at a time.