Several of our CSLA blog writers have collaborated to come up with our top 10 positives that we have found during this quarantine.

In no particular order:

1. We have had time to plant a garden and start seeds in the house for fun.

2. Because our kids have exhausted their go-to hobbies and entertainment, they are open to new activities, like learning new games, helping with laundry, or trying a new recipe.

3. Our family budget is healthier – we’re spending less because we’re doing less recreational shopping and eating out less often. And if we do get take-out, it’s intentional, with different motives – it’s no longer just about not cooking dinner, but also to help out an independent restaurant.

4. We are getting more projects done around the farm that we normally don’t make time for. We are using these projects to teach our kids new life skills, like welding, driving equipment, and animal care.

5. We have witnessed communities pull together to help each other – making masks to donate, parades for various reasons (birthdays, ‘welcome home’ to a soldier, etc.). It almost feels like a World War II effort. My daughter works at a grocery store, and someone made and donated masks for all of the employees! My son participated in a parade a teacher friend organized to encourage her students. People are more polite (now that the TP frenzy has slowed) – smiles and “after you” in the store, offers to help strangers, free “help yourself” TP at post office, etc. I’ve noticed an overall sense of “we’re in this together.” People are looking out for each other, and are making special efforts to look out for those who can’t or shouldn’t leave their homes.

6. We have eaten homemade dinner together as a family every night with everyone there and no interruptions. Without someone needing to be taken to or picked up from practice, mom heading to a meeting or dad coming home late after an appointment with a client, we have been able to connect, talk and laugh more than ever before.

7. Listening to my daughter’s classes gives me insight on how to support her education. Watching my school’s teachers rise to the challenge of finding new ways to teach and adjusting to a virtual classroom, and seeing how much that means to their students and the entire school family.

8. Seeing my work and church teams find new ways to collaborate from a distance, even learning new-to-us technologies like video conferencing and online auction software.

9. We are learning how to be intentional about reaching out to people we love, and intentional with our prayers. We have experienced our church family and school family clinging to each other for support with purposeful interactions that we all used to take for granted.

10. We are enjoying this slower pace of life – even though we have work from home and school from home, there is more flexibility in our schedules and more time for reflection.

Even though this is a scary time for many people - perhaps especially for children - with age-appropriate information, we can choose to see these times as a challenge rather than a problem, and focus on managing a tough situation rather than giving in to panic or despair. We can look for things for which to be thankful. We can take comfort in remembering that God is still in control, and He loves us very much. We can choose faith over fear.

We hope that you have found some positives to concentrate on during this pandemic and have found new ways to connect with family and friends.

A collaborative effort by:  Katy Ambrose, Kim Eubanks, Stacee Hurst and Rachel Thomas