Before the pandemic, we were a family always on the go. I liked it. I’m more productive when I’m busy. My oldest was in 4 or 5 extracurriculars each week, we had a busy social life, and if we did have a day off, it was filled with getting groceries, doing laundry, cleaning. Rarely, if ever, did we have a day to just be bored.
The pandemic hit and put a grinding halt to all of these activities, including mine and my husband’s busy work schedules. Luckily we both were able to maintain our jobs, but the majority of the work could be done at home, virtually, and my husband’s late nights at work were completely removed.
Due to being so busy, I’ve always had a little fear in the back of my mind that my husband and I would be one of those couples that grew apart as empty-nesters. What would we do when we didn’t have kids and work to keep us busy, and maybe ignoring issues that popped up now and then. Not that we’ve ever had any marriage-ruining issues, but maybe at that point all the little ones would add up?
However, the sharp halt to our busy lives proved just the opposite. I see us communicating better (because we have the time), helping each other out more without being asked (because we have the time), being more patient with each other (because we have the time).
While this social butterfly cannot wait to get back to a lot of our busy lifestyle, I’m hoping we will be able to continue some of our down time and empathy that we’ve built over this last year.
It also has made me look forward to, rather than fear, our retired and empty-nest years!