Keeping Sane & Covid-19

It's been almost a month since the Quebec government decided to shut down any non-essential companies, including where I work at.

Of course I, along with the majority of my coworkers, went through all the possibilities. Would we be off long? Could we work from home? Will we have a job to come back to?

The president and VP assured us we would all be taken care of, letting us know we'd all be taken care of. This, thankfully helped somewhat.

My mental health has been made my priority in the last few years, better understanding it, coming to embrace it. Being an introvert, it was a dream come true to be at home in quarantine, social distancing, avoiding everyone and everybody... 

But, I didn't take into the account how much I would miss the hugs from my family, stopping in and chatting with my sister or having tea with my mom. Luckily, we live in the country which means I can deliver cookies to my dad and chat outside on the farm, keeping more than 6 feet apart.

We've enjoyed Easter and birthday suppers over FB videochat. I've laughed and played games for 3 hours non-stop with friends in Montreal. Hearing their voices, seeing their smiles, being able to socialize virtually is something I thought I'd never enjoy.

Being stuck at home has given me the time to sit down and write, hitting the 100K mark last night on my third novel! The "creative cave" my husband set up for me couldn't have come at a better time. I think it really has been a major part of keeping me sane and mentally healthy. 

When I'm stuck on a chapter or need a break, I move onto my other creative hobby, sewing. I'm creating a new wardrobe for myself, in bit of a need of new frocks since I've put on a few pounds since our trip to Japan.

Oh mental illness, how I love thee.

One of the best decisions I made was signing up for a virtual dance class with one of my favourite troupes, The Diamond Denver Dolls. If this pandemic never happened, I probably wouldn't have ever had the chance to "dance" with them.

Trying to see the positive in all this chaos is helping me deal with the small struggles I have every day. 

I'm happy I had the time to discover new things about myself and enjoy the time to create, something I feel I have pushed aside a bit or struggled to get back into it when my depression threatens to bring me down.

I hope you're all doing well and have found different ways to stay busy, but keeping healthy. I look forward to sharing my projects with you, especially my novel!