Last weekend, we went to a public park nearby after lockdown of more than 75 days, and what a refreshing change it was! To see the greenery, to breathe the fresh air, to feel the wind, it was all so beautiful. Perhaps more so, because we were experiencing it after long.
That’s the thing about humans, we hardly appreciate things whose lack we haven’t experienced. With the infrastructure to reach anywhere across the globe anytime, and with the possibility to even travel to space now, none of us would have ever imagined that there will be days in our lives when stepping out of our home would become a luxury, something worth celebrating and cherishing.
Such is the power of scarcity, we run after abundance but it’s often the scarcity that makes us appreciate.
This phase hasn’t been easy at all, but we also can’t deny that this phase has made many of us pause, explore, and re-explore life.
This Sunday, all we did as a family, was relaxing in the sun lying on the grass while my son played nearby. In between, we got up to eat, walk, and then back to our books and swings.
And I could see many families around us doing the same, maintaining the social distance while closely connected with each other.
My son at the end of the day said, – “today, we had a family picnic day exactly as we see in storybooks”.
Now, this comment was a surprise for me and my husband who have grown up in pre-mobilephone era wherein family picnics in parks were a regular part of life. But to my son who is 8 now, this was something that he hadn’t experienced. And this, despite the fact that all our holidays so far have been together as a family and he has also been to school picnics a couple of times. What he had definitely not experienced till now was a day in the park with just the three of us doing nothing, but playing, eating, and reading together. Many reasons for this but the most important one being, accessibility to green, pollution-free parks. That itself is a challenge at the places where we have lived so far.
While this was first for him but even for us, we relived this experience after many, many years. In fact, truth be told, I don’t think the three of us as a family has spent this much together ever, especially with my husband. My son never got so much time at a stretch with his father as much as he got in the last two months.
Spending time with family is indeed in these days. And by family time, I mean the “real together” moments, not the ones we purposefully create to pose and post on social media.
A quick look around and we can see,
We’re connecting with friends and families more,
Not through forwards or muted texts but through conversation via videos and phone calls.
Sundays are getting slower for everyone,
Special meals are the ones being cooked together, not the eat outs or takeaways.
Celebrations are getting simpler,
Kids’ bday parties are back to basics and full of homemade joy.
Evenings are spent playing games together
And weekends are planned around what movies to watch together with homemade munchies and drinks.
Everything around this phase reminds me of my childhood, where hardships were immense, resources were limited, but the joy was in abundance.
While we desperately wait for our life to get back to normal or a new normal but secretly the little girl in me is hoping and wishing that may some of it continue. May we all learn our lessons from this phase of life and value things that deserved to be valued.
May we continue to pause, think, and celebrate the little joys of life.
