You can say it, we all lived the strangest months being confined at home and having to live without the social interaction we are so used to have. I thought that I was going to suffer. I love being outside, being surrounded by people. I’m a real busy Bee, how was I going to stay still? The thing is, I didn’t stay still. Don’t get me wrong, I stayed at home but I had to learn it and had to find ways to stay occupied. And now that we are finally going back to a certain normal life, I want to make sure to remember this moment, because staying at home for 2 months thought me a lot and more importantly I found myself doing things that I thought I had lost interest for.
First of all, I never realized how much I needed to stay « still » for a while. I started reading again and was doing a lot more gym but I was surprised that in a situation like today I felt more the need to … create? I’m not sure if that’s the best word to describe it, but we will go with it.
Music: I think that’s the first one I recall wanting to do. I hadn’t touched my piano for probably a year and playing again felt good. I got motivated and started downloading piano sheets of songs I like. I was getting too excited. I’m still a slow learner and I need to be patient and take my time, but I can’t wait to be at that point where reading the notes will become easier and hopefully soon and I can even sing along.
There were times where I was thinking, probably more overthinking. You know, just too many thoughts going through my mind. I’m sure everyone gets that sometimes, but I don’t like it. Usually being out and being with friends or family helps “suppress” those thoughts. Thankfully, I came back to a childhood hobby! Coloring! And Oh My God! So relaxing, no stress and so peaceful. Just concentrating on the colors and staying in between the lines. I would get lost in time. I also bought watercolor, I’m going to be coloring my life away! 😉
And then blogging! My last blog post was dated in March 2019! A year without writing a thing. I was bored and I remembered my blog. That Saturday, I took my computer and started by brainstorming on what I wanted my blog to be. I wanted a new logo and I wanted it to be like a journal or diary. Funny story: while I was cleaning the blog I downloaded all the content so I could rewrite it and make it better. So I exported everything and I got a link. A couple of weeks later I wanted to start working on that content but the link was expired…. yes, I lost all my previous posts! Oh well… I’m starting over.
And of course, with blogging came photography! I have been following so many people that are so creative with photography and Photoshop that I thought I would try playing around more. I started following a video on YouTube and before I knew it I was creating photo montages myself. I’m not at a great level but it’s so much fun to do! Also, I need to practice my photography skills! I have some friends and my sister that would gladly help me with that but I also want a man model and I think I’m almost done convincing Tommy to help me out!
I had of course a lot of time to decorate my new apartment and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Surprisingly I’m taking my time and waiting for every piece to come together exactly how I want to. And being in my creative moments, I don’t hesitate to make things myself and I’m loving it.
Last but not least! Cooking! Who would have thought that I would find myself enjoying cooking… telling you I never really enjoyed cooking. I like food, but cooking was never my favorite activity unless it’s for a special occasion such as Christmas and even so I always preferred doing something else. Also, with my crazy life of the last 6 months, I was not up to explore my cooking skills. Then lockdown came and I thought, It’s now or never, and you know what I ended up enjoying it. My favorite cookbook: Halfbakedharvest! The best!
Know that I listed all the things I did, it looks like I haven’t been bored but it’s only an illusion, there were days where I was so bored that nothing would inspire me and would stay in bed or on my phone scrolling through Instagram and that was fine too. You have days like that. Most importantly I realized how good it felt to stay home and to take time to do things that inspire you or just enjoy your time with yourself. I hope I’ll remember that because I’m not sure I want to go back to my previous life where I was always busy and even too much. Maybe it was a way of escaping because I can tell you, I’m happy to be home. I’m not saying that I will not go out anymore or have a busy life, but I hope to find the right balance. Yes, that’s the word, finding a balance. Let’s see how long that will last! 😉
Love,
Brenda
brendawithlove.com 