15 Silver Linings from the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus has thrown us all for a loop, planting us firmly into a major historical event that we really want no part of. 

Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t silver linings. Here are 15 of mine…..

1. I’ve used this quarantine as an excuse to eat way more chocolate than usual.
2. I am not a good cook. Coming from a father whose palate is hyper-focused on Hamburger Helper and pretzels, I don’t think it’s in the cards. But since I’ve been cooking most every night, I’ve learned I’m not as terrible as I thought. In fact, I haven’t given myself food poisoning yet!
3. Wearing a medical mask is making me feel like a surgeon. Wearing a bandanna over my face is making me feel like I’m about to rob a stagecoach.  Either way, it’s kind of bad-ass.
4. It’s not weird anymore when I walk my dogs in my pajamas. Those are everyone’s “day clothes” now.
5. I’m no longer worried about my daughter getting lice.
6. This isolation has forced people in my neighborhood out of their houses and onto their driveways and greenbelts. And we all talk to each other a lot more as a result.
7. I’ve been making tons of macaroni in isolation and my daughter recently gave it an A minus.  This is a big improvement from my previous grade of “not as good as grandma’s.”
8. I’ve discovered that I have quite an extensive collection of yoga pants.
9. For me, this pandemic has been a reminder of human decency. I think it’s easy to get down on mankind because we see such negative news but I will always believe that the good people far, far outweigh the bad. And these few months have reinforced that. The IRS scams and $30 bottles of sanitizer are the exceptions; it’s the helping that’s the norm.
10. So far, homeschooling has gone off without any tantrums or breakdowns. My daughter has also been fine.
11. I got out of my dental cleaning…..twice!
12. My friends and I used to play poker together all the time when we were young and childless; now, it’s a rare occurrence. But since the quarantine began, we’ve been playing with each other online a few times a week. For money, of course, so that we care.
13. I’ve gotten better at cutting my own bangs. Well, better-ish.
14. Mondays feel similar to every other day so they no longer land as more difficult.
15. While taking my dogs for one of their many walks, I overheard a little boy standing on his front porch, proudly telling his father that he’d memorized their garage code. Then he very loudly revealed what that garage code was, which, of course, I overheard………It’s just nice to know I have options if my finances get really hairy.