Some Upsides of Social Distancing, Part II

A toddler sitting in the woods reaches his hand into a stream

This is a continuation of my series on the silver linings of self-isolating. (Click here for Part I)

  • It’s easier to prepare healthy meals. Believe me, I’ve eaten my share of junk food over the past month, thanks to anxiety, boredom, and always being so dang close to the fridge. But I’ve also prepared a number of nourishing meals. I’ve tried to stock my kitchen with healthy snacks like fresh and frozen produce, nuts, dried fruit, and dark chocolate. It’s easy to cook a real meal for lunch when I have access to a full kitchen and don’t have to plan ahead and remember to take a bunch of ingredients with me in the morning. I can start dinner earlier in the day and eat a freshly cooked meal at a decent hour — I don’t have to rush to get something on the table after getting home at 6:00 or later. By preparing more meals myself, I know exactly what’s in my food. I’ve also unintentionally eliminated fried food now that I’m not eating out much.
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Summer Slow-Down: Learning to Relax

A beach with two people relaxing under a pair of palm trees

As my mom will tell you, I’ve never very been good at relaxing.  Since about sixth grade, I’ve been involved in all sorts of things.  As an adult, you will rarely find me sitting down when I’m at home.  I tend to spend my evenings and weekends working out, doing yard work, doing laundry or other chores around the house, attending a meeting or event, visiting friends, or working on some kind of project.  I pretty much never sit in front of a television, and my relaxation time is usually scheduled (e.g., yoga class, meditation group, occasional massage or mani/pedi).

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