HaHa! At the outset of the pandemic and with all the doom and gloom, who would have thought there could have been any benefits, never mind three! For me, of the many benefits, my top three have been:
Concentrated time with my S; we are spending much more time talking, walking the neighborhood, cooking together, sharing book & tv recommendations and just really connecting. My S is reveling in the cooking lessons, and dare I say, he gets grumpy if I cook without him!
Previously, H & I would eat out a couple of times a week; now, we are cooking or preparing each meal at home (we always ate together) and have not eaten out since early March - a side benefit of that is $ not spent!
I find I am no longer in a rush to do anything or be anywhere. I am no longer governed by or living by deadlines. I find I have more time to do nothing! What doesn't get done today, will get done tomorrow, next week or next month! The downside is, I waste a lot of time doing nothing!
We are hanging out together. DH, D and I went for a 3-mile walk along the harbor today. We try to walk twice a week. D came home to SIP and works full-time remotely. DH still goes into his office but he's the only one there.
We plan our meals - with a weekly menu written on a chalkboard and taken turns cooking. Surprisingly, we've stuck to it. Last week, we decided to get take out and we decided that we prefer home cooking. That's a first.
We are finally enjoying our home and the fact that we can enjoy each other's company cooking in the kitchen, hanging out in the backyard and watching TV in our family room. We also appreciate that its big enough for us to have our own space. Just this AM, D said it was a good thing we hadn't gone through with downsizing last year.
The 5 to 7 mile walks H and I take 5 to 6 days a week. We are lucky that we can walk to beaches close by and that we have hiking trails near that we can walk and be away from people.
With all the cooking at home and walking both H and I have lost weight and we are feeling better than we have in several years both physically and mentally.
Getting to watch D2 who is staying with us right now do her job. She is 26 and has been at her position for almost 3 years and I love seeing her in action because she is really killing it!
Saving money, especially on gas. We are still eating out, but we don't order drinks when doing takeout, so that's a savings. Groceries have become more expensive, but it is still a net savings.
I have a newfound appreciation for our National Guard. They have set up covid testing sites, which are reportedly better run than the ones hospitals have set up (have a few friends who have used both), plus they set up a 3,000 field/auxillary hospital in Chicago in about a week (fortunately it wasn't needed, and I believe it closed). They're an impressive group.
DH loves WFH, and it looks like his company is going to continue with that and a hybrid option for a while, if not permanently. I am happy with the WFH hybrid schedule I have going. DD needs to get back to school. Her summer class through a college is going very well (much better than the spring e-learning), but that model probably isn't going to be as effective for her calculus, physics 1 & 2, or her digital electronics classes. We do like knowing the WFH option will be available to us for the forseeable future.
Using the deck much more (and for more than deck tomatoes)
Being able to have lunch with DH during the week (when one of us isn’t on a work call) or being able to pop into is office and give him a peck on the cheek
Doing what we've always done (working from home as a husband/wife team), while feeling like we have some ageless wisdom to share, along the lines of "how to avoid divorcing your spouse now that you are stuck together 24/7"
PPP felt like a Christmas bonus (our business didn't go down much). Of course, we'll pay it back in taxes, eventually, but still...
Seeing our DD much more rested than during her normal school year, and still getting a lot done.
Working from home has forced me to learn how to use conference calls, hold a meeting via WebEx, Zoom, etc. Never would have or need to learn these if I stiil worked in the office.
Having D home from college since March. We love it..
all three of us having meals together daily. (we used to have different schedules) and going for a walk as a family regularly.
(1) Time with college senior/then just graduated/and now working 1st job remotely – so much fun to be a fly on the wall and hear him navigate his world, getting to see a bit more of it than we would have otherwise. Related – he and I cook a lot together, which is really nice.
(2) regular dog walks and fewer grocery store runs and fewer spur-of-the moment food decisions at work etc. means I too have dropped a little weight (needs to be more, but I’ll start with it). Definitely feel healthier.
(3) saving a ton of money on “things,” since I’m just not ordering stuff, being way more conscious of money. We both work at a university and are lucky to have our jobs, but there is a lot of uncertainty in the future so we are saving every way we can. Also tremendous savings on gas and car maintenance. Grocery bill way up, but overall net savings.
My kid, if asked, would say the upside is – he is in the best shape of his life (and he’s a college athlete, so always pretty impressive) because he eats healthily, exercises hard, AND – doesn’t party ever. He hasn’t touched alcohol since mid March when they left campus. He’s going to have to watch his intake very carefully when things loosen up more bc he will be a huge lightweight when it comes to alcohol, one white wine spritzer and he’ll be bouncing off the walls!
I got to be part of the tremendous success of my employer during the pandemic and witness the generosity of leadership in giving back to the communities and the employees.
Got to walk my dogs every day and see them all day long.