The brighter side of a pandemic

Wednesday, 14 October 2020

When you hear the word pandemic, I imagine your thoughts go to the number of people infected, the number of people who have died, then to the people who have lost their jobs, restaurants/bars and stores who have had to shut down, then possibly to the inconveniences of lock-downs and social distancing.

What about the brighter side of a pandemic?

Trying new things, cherishing the people in your bubble, learning new things about yourself.

I’ve been very fortunate on many levels. I haven’t been sick (fingers crossed), I share a home with my Mom who is a fantastic roommate ( I can’t imagine what life would be like if we were both alone through this), I have been working the entire time (phew!), and I have many hobbies to keep occupied.

I am also enjoying all of the online classes, workshops and events that I would not have had the opportunity to attend in person. For instance, a genealogy conference in Ireland that would have been quite expensive if I attended in person. Sign language classes were much easier to attend from the comfort of my home rather than driving 90 mins round trip. More genealogy meetings and workshops that I always had the best intention of attending but didn’t make it, I made it this time! Tonight, thanks to the Ottawa Public Library and Elle Chef, I learned how to make sourdough bread, from the comfort of my home. This class had people tuning in from the UK, Australia and Chile, as well as across Canada! It’s incredible!

When things go back to normal (or some semblance of normal), my hope is that the online events will continue. Maybe they can be hybrid – live and in person with the option of attending virtually? (I attended a workshop this summer that was like that. It was fantastic!) In the meantime, I will be learning Irish harp this weekend at a wonderful Nova Scotia festival – Re-Jigged – online, of course 😉

Today’s photos

A foggy morning greeted my camera. The day improved with lots of sunlight, a gentle breeze and warmth (16°C). I planted some garlic this evening, stopping several times to take pictures of the setting sun and its beautiful glow on the landscape.