Positive Side Effects of 2020

More Home Cooked Meals

Scott and I both come from restaurant backgrounds so you could definitely say we appreciate good food. Prior to the shutdown, we dined out at least once a week. Meals at home tended to be quick and easy (Or, in Scott’s case, microwavable).

Because my job shut down for almost 3 months, I suddenly had a lot more time on my hands. And that time allowed me to remember how much I actually enjoy cooking. So, one positive that has come out of this crazy year has been having time to cook meals at home that we actually get to sit down and enjoy together.

More Quality Time Together

Speaking of getting to sit down and enjoy a meal together, that’s probably the biggest positive that has come out of all this. I’m not exaggerating when I say Scott and I have spent more time together in the past few months than all of last year.

With our jobs, we often work opposite schedules. Prior to the pandemic, there were a lot of days Scott would be coming home right as I was leaving. It’s a scheduling conflict we’ve dealt with for most of our relationship. In fact, there have been times where it’s caused a lot of problems in our relationship.

While practically losing my job for several months due to Covid has been stressful, in a lot of ways it has been the best thing that happened to us. On top of having all this extra quality time together, it’s also forced us to get creative when it comes to date night. And, if I do say so myself, we’ve come up with some fun ideas, like when Scott took us to Disney World (saved to an IG Highlight) or when I recreated one of his favorite games from his college days.

Having Time to Pursue Dreams

Career wise, the last few years have been a bit of a roller coaster for me. After struggling for years to land a job in journalism, I finally gave in to the need for a steady paycheck and took a restaurant management opportunity. I ended up being overworked and underpaid for almost a year before we moved, and I got a new opportunity. While still in a similar industry, the job itself offered me new challenges and a chance to learn new skills. Until I found myself in a toxic work environment that didn’t end well (I wrote more about that here).

I struggled a lot at that point, trying to figure out my next move. Ultimately, I knew I wanted to be my own boss and have control over my own life. My goal was to do what made me happy, and that’s this blog. But building this platform takes time, especially if I want to do it my way. So, I came up with a plan that involved working part-time in the restaurant industry again and taking classes that would allow me to take a new career path. But, while definitely necessary, neither of these left me with a lot to time to devote to writing.

Then the pandemic hit, our state shut down, and I found myself with more time on my hands than I knew what to do with. So, I put it into this blog and my social media platforms. And now I’m surer than ever that this is what I want to do when I grow up.

So, this year has been challenging. The pandemic sent the entire world into a tailspin that we’re still trying to steer our way out of. Weddings and vacations have been canceled, school years were cut short, working from home (or not working) became a new normal, and hottest accessory of the year has been a face mask.

Basically, this year sucked. But, if you’re like me and prefer to see the silver lining around every cloud, maybe you’ve also found some positive side effects to Covid-19.