Hello? Is anyone out there?

We just returned from a walk; it was eerie. All restaurants, shops and cafés are closed, some boarded up. It feels like the after-effects of a  bomb going off. We are the only few survivors, except for a restaurant down the street, which is offering wine pairings with their take-out menu. Surreal doesn’t even begin to describe this urban downtown neighbourhood’s vibe, which is usually one of the busiest in the city.

Now that I’m stuck at home, “self-isolating,” it occurs to me that we’re in this for the long haul. Those drool-worthy Bottega Veneta shoes I was pinning for are now just a distant memory. Sigh… honestly, who needs any of this when we’re living through a pandemic? I’ve come to the realization that living in my favourite pair of jeans and a t-shirt is saving me a heck of a lot of dough, calling it “pandemic chic.”  All kidding aside, a couple of weeks in, what’s a person to do?

I’ve seen many inspiring youtube videos, the messages are similar in theme, stay home, be safe, wash your hands, distance yourselves. It’s really a matter of rejigging our brains and slowing down our busy lives which by now, should have you at full stop. Since we’re forced into cocooning, I’m taking this opportunity to tackle a few projects around the home. Spring is around the corner, so yes, I’m getting a jump on things earlier than usual.

“Let’s paint,” he says, “paint?” I say… Painting my townhouse was the furthest from my mind, but then again, we didn’t expect to be at home self-isolating. We’re supposed to be on our once-in-a lifetime-trip to Italy. Unfortunately, the closest thing at the moment is my glass of wine. Which, btw seems to be going down very well, thank you. So yes, we’re painting, we may have bitten off more than we can chew, but hey, we have time, a lot of it.

Being home 24/7 is not ideal, but for the first time in a while, I have time on my hands. It’s a luxury and I’m savouring every moment. Whether it be painting (please let it end soon) or getting caught up on this and that, you gotta love it! Before you know it, we’ll be back into our busy schedules.

Embrace these challenging times, celebrate our healthcare workers at  7 o’clock, a fun reason to get outside and make a bunch of noise for a great cause! In the meantime, stay home and enjoy your forced downtime. We’re in this together:)

Stay healthy!

LC

xo