I have felt a whole range of emotions during this quarantine. There are times where I’m thankful for the slow down, thankful for being safe in my home with my healthy family, and then my mind shoots off to some scary place filled with dread and worry of the unknown. My heart breaks for all the people suffering right now. It’s a scary time and we’re all trying to navigate this uncharted territory of quarantine life.

But this quarantine has also opened my eyes to so many things my mind was too clouded or too busy to realize before.

Americans are resilient problem solvers

During a time with scary blasted on every newsfeed, we are still a country that bands together during dark days. Time and time again, if there’s a problem, we find a way to solve it. We get creative. We get resourceful. We get motivate to combat the bad. Together.

Family dinners are important

So many nights before this quarantine, we are rushing through our day, carting kids to activities, and dinner is often rushed too. It’s typically one more thing to check off the list in our already full day. But this quarantine has forced our schedule to come to a stretching halt, and as a result, family dinners are now a looked forward to event together.

Make time for the small stuff

I hope after all of this ends, we still make time for kite flying, nature walks, and blanket forts in the living room. My kids have been hanging out in blanket-made forts for days. I haven’t cared that my living room is covered in fluffy stuffed animals, blankets and pillows, because, well, no one is coming over to see the mess. But honestly, who cares about the mess? Memories are being made. Books are being read with flash lights inside this well architected fort. And the giggles coming from inside make my heart soar. After quarantined days fade back into our normal routine, I hope my heart still remembers to say yes to forts made of blankets.

Fresh air cures bad moods

It’s a wonder what fresh air can do to your mind and soul. Nature walks have become a looked-forward to adventure.

We don’t need a full schedule to feel fulfilled

The world keeps spinning and our kids are just as happy (if not happier) to not have events to run to every day. Downtime is actually a gift we need to give ourselves more often, even after quarantine ends.

We don’t need all the things

This quarantine has forced many of us to trim down to just the essentials. Essential workers, essential supplies, essential common goods. And it’s helped me refocus on the value and meaning of essential.

Technology has saved my sanity

I miss my family and friends but we’re getting creative with Zoom happy hours and FaceTime family reunions. This time stuck at home has made me even more thankful for the technology I tend to take for granted. I realize that without it, I wouldn’t be able to see the sweet faces that I love and miss dearly. My kids are able to continue their school work, and my husband is able to continue earning a paycheck because with great thanks to technology.

Good always finds a way

The positive always seems to surface. There’s a shortage of items? There are people that will spend hours learning to make them. Kids can’t go to school? There are hundreds of thousands of teachers that love their kids enough to learn how to conduct school via the internet overnight. No cure for a virus? There are doctors and scientists racing to the frontlines to save people and search high and low for a cure.

These are tough times, my friends. I won’t sugar coat that. I’ve had my share of breakdowns, and scary thoughts. But there’s also so much good that we can all learn from this. So much we can still be thankful for. Many things I hope we all continue after this quarantine is a distant memory.

We live in a country that bands together, even when our views or lifestyles are drastically different. Because hard times, as scary as they may be, give me a renewed since of hope in humanity and love for one another.