I completely missed last week. I apologize to regular readers, I saw a few of you had checked in. It mostly comes down to last week being a week, and I had depleted my “write ahead” stash. It kind of all works out to the theme of today’s post anyway…

Well, it’s happened, we are on anniversaries of COVID things while it is still going on. A week ago was one year from my first “work from home” day, and I am never going back (that’s today’s opinion anyway). I am writing this from a zone that has errrrrched back to Red (if you listen carefully, you can hear the tire squeals). Curling is cancelled for the season, gatherings are shut down, and we are pretty close to being back where we were this time last year. All of my Facebook memories keep popping up with my “Isolation Activities” and what I was doing with this new at home time. Reading back in my notebook from a year ago, it’s funny to see how small I anticipated this to be. I recorded my activities for “What I did in Quarantine” so I could share with my niece and nephew when they were big. One of the items was “laundry”, like I wasn’t going to do that dozens of times while I was in quarantine HAHA. It’s definitely been a time.

Looking back on it though, it’s been time I was looking for. I was always planning projects for a “big break” like I was back in school or something. Let’s just clear up that a pandemic full of job loss, sadness, and death, is NOT what I had in mind. But this time to slow down and really look at things has been priceless to me.

In the before times I was running around all of the time, I was never at home. Gym, curling, volleyball, dinner club, work, travel, hosting, shopping, all of it. I think that this is the reason why I haven’t tired of being at home yet, I’ve never really been here before now haha.

Taking this time has really taught me a few things. There is much work to be done, but it’s a good start.

• One thing I know for sure, I am not balanced if I am not drawing. Drawing is my balance tool. The feeling that washes over when I am drawing and creating in my studio is unbelievable. What I need to work on is the “power through” on those frustrated, stressed and tired days. I don’t want to force my work, but I know doing it will make me feel better. Maybe those days are colouring book days. Hmmm.

• I know that I can get into a good routine if I work at it. I also know that it only takes one or two days off for me to fall out of it. So I need to really look at those things and make the room to make them happen.

• Also, I want to be doing what I want to do more. I don’t say this because everyone MADE me do things before. I say this because FOMO is my big reason for agreeing to a lot of things and most of the time it was great to do that thing, but I was doing that instead of doing something that I needed for me. Sometimes it is as simple as adjusting the perspective. Everyone is knitting a sock pattern together, I don’t really have any special feelings for that sock but everyone else is doing it (insert scheduling/supply stress here). Instead, maybe I’ll knit another sock that I AM interested in, at the same time. Much better. I’ve said full on no to a few things recently, things that I didn’t want to partake in, or no because I needed that night away from screens, and it is lovely. I have found my phone’s Do Not Disturb feature and I am USING it haha.

• I have also learned to be a little more real about things. I’ve had all this time here to fit in that project over there, but I still haven’t done it, do I really want to do that project? Taking this hypothetical project off the list will do wonders for that weight on your shoulders, let me tell you.

I know that everyone has responded to this pandemic in different ways, and everyone has had their own set of burnout moments. Mine have been these past couple of months. But I am taking care of me as much as I can, and I am already feeling some good energy heading into April.

Overall, I am really happy with how I have handled the pandemic. I have focused on me, my interests, I have seen more of my family and far away friends in the past year than I would have otherwise (why weren’t we FaceTiming all the time?), and I have taken the time to notice a lot of things and reconnect with others. The look back on the past year is a weird one, and one that is still going, but we are already adjusting, we are already working out ways to some things differently. I am hopeful that we are moving to something better.

Whether you were productive, creative, breaking down, or frustrated with this whole thing, know that I am proud of you for making it through. Don’t compare your reaction to anyone else’s, most of us are taking the response day by day. Today I am feeling pretty energetic (but I haven’t checked my work email yet ;D), the other day I almost fell asleep on my walk, somedays I can focus and get lots done, some days I turn the TV on and just stare at what pops up first. Seek help where you need it. Know that you are not alone. We will pull through to something new and exciting.