As we continue to practice our social distancing, we find ourselves going a bit stir crazy. Stuck inside our house, all 6 of us, and our normal day-to-day routine is a thing of the past.
Like nearly everyone out there, we are making our way through the new order of working at home, online schooling, and social media connecting, and finding ways to get the entire family a bit of exercise. We are lucky to live where we do. We can get out of the house, find a trail, and head into the redwoods without worrying much about maintaining that 6-foot distance.
And, our new ritual also includes howling. Yes, at 8pm every night, Mill Valley has taken to howling, like the local coyotes do. Not only does it provide us all with an outlet for pent-up energy, but this howling is a way to “Thank you” and to support all those health care workers and first responders who are dealing with the crisis first-hand.
While we are focusing so much on what is changing in our daily lives, wishing things were back to ‘normal,’ perhaps it’s time to think about a new normal — the way we will live our lives after all of this is over.
Maybe this provides us with the opportunity to change those things we have always wanted to change, but didn’t have time to, because we were so busy with our ‘normal’ day-to-day.
Coming to Our Senses
What are we learning from all this social distancing? It’s simple: We need to connect. As our routines are in upheaval, and we’re feeling a bit dulled by lack of our usual sensory overload, we are looking for new ways to connect. That’s why we are all Zooming happy hours with friends. Our kids are using an online portal to connect with teachers and classmates for learning. We’re turning to social media for further connection. At the same time, we are also reconnecting with our family. As the usual day-to-day schedule has come to a halt, we find ourselves face-to-face with our family.
Social distancing and stay-at-home orders leave us craving the hustle and bustle of our past routines. But, in hindsight, what if we have been ignoring something that we should have paid attention to?
In our new routines, we need to open our minds to the new opportunities as we make our way through our days. Now, more than ever, we need to come to our senses.
And by that, I mean, the five senses; Taste, Touch, Smell, Sound and Sight.
Not only are we connecting with our friends and our families, but we are also connecting with our food. In the kitchen, we are now bumping into each other as we’re making lunch, scrounging through our fully stocked pantries for a snack – and, probably sitting around the dinner table together.
Ever since we launched Family Eats back in 2008, our motto had been, “Reconnecting with the food we eat and the family we love.” We have focused on inspiring our readers to this mantra, and it is apparent now more than ever.
In our pre-virus lives, food may have been an afterthought. Just something to fill the void as you go from one activity to another. Now, food is the epicenter of our lives. We are filling our pantries with more food than we ever had before. Some are baking bread for the first time. Others are scouring websites for recipes to prepare. We are hunkered down at home, with our family, and pretty much forced to cook.
This is truly an opportunity to learn, change our habits, and understand that time spent in the kitchen is time spent with our senses.
Sight: The joy of seeing your child perusing cookbooks in search of a recipe he can prepare for tonight’s family dinner.
Smell: Enjoying the aroma of freshly made coffee in the morning.
Taste: Tasting the full flavor of a pot of simmering pasta sauce made using your Grandma’s famous pasta sauce.
Hearing: The laugher and conversation of the family, sitting together around the table.
Touch: The therapeutic process of kneading bread by hand.
As we worry about when we can get out of the house, how this virus may be affecting our day to day, take the time to just slow down, and think about what good is coming of this all. What are you grateful for today?
Here in our household, cooking and baking is just the medicine we need for our senses and lives. We are grateful for the fact that we are all
“Reconnecting with the food we eat and the family we love.”
If you want a bit more reading, here is an old post about our sense of smell.
