“Reflections on Life During a Pandemic & 10 Journaling Prompts to Process that Time”

I’m currently experiencing a bit of déjà vu. A year ago, I was home with my kids, we were not going out anywhere, and we were wondering just how temporary the situation really was.

Living in the Southeastern United States after a cyber-attack has crippled the fuel supply to my area, I find myself in the exact same position I was in during the pandemic quarantine. And, while the pipeline is back online and fuel is supposedly making its way to my state, it seemed like a good time to revisit what seems like a lifetime of living that went into a single year.

This time last year, I devoted a section in my blog each week (for several months starting with this post) to what life was like for me and my family during our quarantine. That weekly blog entry, I now see, was essentially a therapeutic journaling session that helped me deal with my feelings about the situation and helped me to put it in a more positive light.

But, as life wore on and the “new normal” became, well, normal, I found myself less inclined to think about our situation in that way. Besides, the summer ended, and once it became clear that we were not going back to how things were before, I found myself with new routines that quickly took over what I was blogging and journaling about.

But, it has been over a year since my boss sent me home for “at least a month” due the spread of a virus that was haphazardly taking lives. That means a year since people I care about got sick from the virus, or didn’t get sick from it, or (sadly) died from it. And, for me, that means I should probably start processing my thoughts and feelings about what’s taken place these last 14 months.

This blog entry, therefore, has a couple of sections. It is first a journal entry to help me process a little of what I’m thinking about when it comes to reflecting on the events of 2020-2021. And second, it is where I’m going to share some journaling prompts in case you all want to delve a little deeper into your own reflections about this year.

Reflecting on My Life During the Pandemic

I will say that my reflections on this pandemic reflect solely my experience, and I do not believe that my perception of it is in any way similar to how others felt about their situations during that time. Each of us is unique, therefore, we will all experience the same thing differently.

I also know that the pandemic’s impact differed depending on where you live, what you do for a living, and what season of life you’re in. I’ll put it out there- I know I was one of the lucky ones.

My Top 3 Pandemic Gratitudes:

As always, I need to start with gratitude. It helps to keep me grounded and positive. Below is a list of things that I count as my blessings during this time.

1- My kids are a Goldilocks age. What I mean by this is, they’re not so young that remote schooling was a nightmare as it was for many parents with elementary school-aged or younger children. And, they’re not so grown up that I couldn’t see them because they didn’t live in our “pandemic bubble. Instead, they were at the right age for a pandemic- a tween and teen who could manage their remote classes mostly on their own. This meant that I could have them in school and still get my own work done. So many parents had to make terrible decisions about who would keep the kids on task while the other parent got to work. And, on the other end of the spectrum, we saw and lived with them every day- something my friends with kids out of the house were unable to do safely.

2- Getting to be at home with my kids. As a full-time working mom who works two jobs part of the year, this was an incredible blessing. I have not had this much time together with my kids since I was on maternity leave with them. And, since my son was in preschool when I was on maternity leave with my daughter, this is the most time they’ve had together. Did we sometimes get on one another’s nerves? Of course. But, I know the value of time with kids and how quickly they’ll be out of the house. I was able to hug them and see them everyday, and I even got to just hang out and get to know them better. We watched comedy series and movies and ended up with inside jokes. In that sense, this year was a gift.

3- My job can be done remotely. My job is a privilege. I know that others during this time were not so fortunate. My heart and gratitude go out to every essential and front-line worker out there- from medical staff working days on end to treat patients sick with the virus to grocery store clerks and delivery people who made sure we had food and supplies. Being a research attorney with an office that provided us with computers and Zoom accounts meant that I could be at home this entire time with my family and not risk getting sick. I taught my class remotely and pretty much never had to leave the house or risk getting sick.

I didn’t deserve these privileges any more than others who did not have those options. I’m truly humbled by that.

Things I Will Actually Miss About Time in Quarantine

Of course, there are things about this pandemic that I hope we will never again experience in our lifetime or those of future generations. There was a tremendous loss of life and livelihoods that will have ripple effects for decades to come. Even for someone with a relatively easy time of things, I missed seeing family and friends and regretted missing out on milestone events.

That said, when faced with a trying time and forced to make the best of it, we can see how life can thrive even in the most barren conditions. In other words, we are resilient and can choose find the good in difficult circumstances.

These next few items that came to mind stem directly from the gratitude list above. They are the things I enjoyed and would like to keep doing/having, if even part of the time. These are the lessons that showed me what truly matters once I put aside the business and “priorities” that used to dominate my life before things shut down.

No work or any other commute. This was a major game changer. I cannot tell you how much time I have spent traveling to and from work before this pandemic kept me home. (This also goes for time spent driving to other activities and obligations that went virtual during this time.) Before the shutdown, commute time was the reason I spent so much time making sure every meal of the week was already prepped on the weekend. It also explains why I was so sleep deprived, as it meant getting up at 5am (to get to work in time to be productive) and going to bed around 11pm (so I can take care of all the things that I couldn’t do as I traveled and went to work). I have slept longer and even my shoulder stopped hurting from dragging my work bags around. More importantly, this gave me more time to focus on my physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I consider the race equity work I started last summer to be part of that- no longer having the not-enough-time excuse, I felt I could focus on the learning necessary to understand issues affecting my community. This has helped to reshape my outlook, and I’m continuing to learn.

Fewer activities and obligations. I know I shouldn’t be happy about not having places to be, but for someone who worked full time and had something to do nearly every night of the week, it was sooo nice to take a break from all that. It was like summer break all year long. Most of my and the kids’ activities and appointments that were not cancelled could be done virtually via Zoom or some other remote communication platform. So, not only did we have fewer things to do, the ones we had we could do without an added commute. Those little pockets of extra time improved our stress levels and quality of life.

Virtual schooling. Yes, I know a lot of kids and parents suffered from having their kids at home and online all day. I can see that it had some drawbacks for my two kids, and there will likely have to be some catching up to get to the level they would have been had they been in classrooms all year. However, everything has its positive and negatives, and the positives of virtual school for my family were not having to make lunches every night, my ADHD-afflicted son’s being able to find all of his assignments and not lose half his belongings, as noted above, being able to see the kids all day long. We ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, and it has been glorious to see them this much.

Virtual work. As I noted above, I am incredibly fortunate to have a job that allowed me to work remotely. And, that meant that all of my meetings were either over Zoom or the phone. Not only did this mean I didn’t have to travel to these meetings, it also meant I only had to be dressy from the waist up. So, I wore more comfortable clothes and less make up. My skin is better and I got in more walking since I wore clothing I could exercise in. Virtual work was also good for my home. I could move the laundry to the dryer during lunch or walk around with a dusting mitt as I chatted on a work call. Being at home made it possible feel like I had a work-life balance- something I’ve never truly experienced before.

10 Journaling Prompts to Reflect on Life During the Pandemic

I know that not everyone had the experience that I did. I know only a few people who died from the virus, my work continued with nearly no interruptions, and I lived with the people I care about and who care about me, so I was not at risk of violence or harm and had loved ones to hug. That makes a huge difference in how a person can experience a situation like this.

Journaling about this time can be a good way to process the situation, learn from it, and empower ourselves to move forward in a positive direction, no matter how we felt about it at the time. Below are some prompts to help get you started:

1. Everyone’s experience of the past 14 months was different. What do you think made your pandemic experience uniquely yours?
2. What difficult or upsetting things happened during this time? Did you experience loss, grief, or disappointments due to the pandemic and have they improved for you today?
3. Were there any positive things that happened for you during this time? Feel free to journal about them or create a pandemic gratitude list.
4. Did the time in quarantine provide any opportunities to do things you would not otherwise have done had the pandemic never happened?
5. What did you learn about yourself as a result of this situation? Anything you can work on? What were your most proud moments?
6. What did you learn about others in your life during this time? Did some folks surprise you with how they handled themselves during this situation? Did any people impress or inspire you?
7. Did you learn any new skills during the quarantine that you did not use before? (Did you learn to bake bread, sew masks, or try your hand at other skills?)
8. What were the things you missed most about life before the pandemic that you have re-incorporated back into your life or plan to bring back?
9. What things about life before the pandemic were you happy to phase out of your life and do not plan to bring back?
10. How has this experience changed the way you see yourself in relation to your community? Are you more resilient than you previously believed? Did you or those around you rise to the occasion?

Have you journaled about your pandemic experience? Do you find the process painful or therapeutic? I’d love to learn more about your journaling experience, so feel free to leave a comment below.

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** Images in graphics found on Canva. Image of cork calendar found on Unsplash. Images of gratitude note and journal with pen found on Pixabay.

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