My two favorite headlines from early lockdown are as follows: “Stop Trying to Be Productive” and “Now Is the Perfect Time to Lower the Parenting Bar.” They fit my general sense of overwhelm and malaise.
But it’s been 185-plus days now, and my early resolve to not make lockdown such a thing has passed. This is life now. We might as well make the best of it.
Here’s how 10 parents who reached that conclusion before I did have used this time at home to make their lives a little better.
Taking one step at a time
“The kids and I have started using the time we used to spend driving to school or activities to walk ourselves and our pets,” says Lesley Ling, a mother of two in Camarillo, California. “It's just nice to be moving, to be together, not rushing off to be somewhere else.”
Building a yoga practice at home
“I have been doing more yoga, says Katherine Seldman, a mother of two in Los Angeles, California. “I find that it's easier to just get on the mat for a class when I don't have to physically go there, plus there is the added benefit of online classes sometimes being cheaper.”
Tending the home garden
"I surprised myself and began gardening — a lot! Both vegetable and ornamental," says Nicole Coppola, a mother of two in Sonoma County, California. “I had never grown anything in the ground before and hadn't had a houseplant in over a decade. I’m harvesting now and loving it. It has become my daily meditation so to speak.”
Turning a hobby into a business
"Since the entertainment industry was shut down for so long, I started baking again during the day — making cakes and cupcakes for friends — and ended up launching an actual company from it after it grew into several orders a week," says Ruby Birns, a mother of one in Los Angeles, California. "Never would have thought I would be doing this as a new chapter, but if it weren't for the shutdown, I wouldn't have had time to hone my skills and taken chances to make my own recipes." She says her daughter bakes with her to practice fractions, and now there's always sweets in the house.
Going back to school
Kerry Rosenblatt, an actor and mother of two in Los Angeles, California, decided to go back to get her teaching credential. “I have my MFA and taught for five years in a middle school, but they could never hire me full-time because I didn’t have a teaching credential. So now is the time!”
“Acting stuff really isn’t going right now, so I needed to be intellectually stimulated. It kind of hit me today how much work it is, but I’m grateful. I’m grateful to be moving toward something.”
Breaking a sweat
Chrissy Goodman, a mother of two in Los Angeles, California, has been doing Chloe Ting Free Workout Challenges on YouTube. “I’m not a big fan of exercising, but I’ve been doing these since March and they keep me focused and fit. Downside, I never know the real date anymore. If the girls ask what day it is, I just say 'Day 15' or 'Day 22.'”
Biking — a lot
Craig Mackay, a father of four, gets on his bike as much as possible. “Prior to COVID-19, I hadn’t ridden in a few years, and for a few weeks I was riding 20 miles a day.” His record ride is 40 miles.
Learning an instrument
Paula Gonzalez, a mother of two in El Cerrito, California, has been teaching herself guitar. “This has been a lifelong dream. Everything that I’m going through, that’s happening around us, I express through music,” she says.
Pursuing happiness
Akemi Phillips, a mother of one in Burbank, California, took the Yale Happiness class. It had, she says, “some cool theories about how our brains are constantly never satisfied with what we have and how to counter this.”
Hopping on the Peloton
"I got a Peloton bike and started losing the Quarantine 10 that I had gained," says Gigi Gomez, a mother of one in Flagler Beach, Florida.
