The Good that Covid brought into our lives
In the past year, the world has experienced an unprecedented crisis and Covid-19 has been on everyone’s mind for many months now.
We all know someone who contracted it, we have been prevented from travelling, meeting friends and family and just going about our daily lives has become complicated. We are all familiar with the pain and inconveniences that this has brought to each and every one of us, but what about the positives?
For this article, I decided to interview my fellow Ohana Staff and find out what are the positive things that the Covid situation has brought into their lives. After all, no situation can be all bad, every cloud has its silver lining. I asked them to think back about the past months and tell me about all or some of their positive experiences that came out of this situation. Things that would not or could not have happened if not for the Covid-19 crisis…
…And, as always, they delivered! Are you ready to read about how the Ohana Staff stayed positive during these challenging times? Let’s begin!
Trying new things:
This time of COVID did not only bring restrictions, but it also brought us the gift of time. And with this newfound freedom some of us decided to try new things that we had been putting off.
Nimo always loved cooking and he decided that this was his moment! He started cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. Though we have not yet had the priviledge of tasting his culinary fare, the picture of the Osechi he prepared for New Year was very impressive. Not only did he enjoy the cooking process, but he also said he found that he enjoyed his cooking even more than the food he had when eating out. He found a new hobby and was able to save money! We are looking forward to your catering at our next staff lunch Nimo!
Kai also did some work in the kitchen and started making real espresso. He started making bread (like most of the world) and pizza dough so that homemade pizza became his family’s Sunday dinner favorite.
Liezel whose strength until now was not cooking, decided to take the matter into her hands and learn a few simple recipes that she and her family could enjoy together.
Tamara’s children were able to display their skills in the kitchen as well, much to the amazement of their proud Mom! When they became hungry while she was busy planning the next lessons on Zoom with her Buds Class Team, they fixed themselves some snacks.
Pauline and John experimented with new popular recipes they found on social media, burned some of them in their air fryer and ate lots of Korean food. They enjoyed these new experiences! There are no failures, only opportunities on how to improve!
Making food that we can share and enjoy with our loved ones always brings us joy.
Vieda took up gardening. She now has a little vertical garden in the making.
I never could keep a plant alive for more than a week but while my children and I were home last spring, I took my youngest to the flower shop and he was quick to choose several plants that we then proceeded to display in front of our house. He was happy to water them and help with weeding every day and I am glad to report that, almost a year in, most are still alive and thriving. After killing many hibiscuses in the past, having one that bloomed at last, felt like quite the accomplishment!
Since they couldn’t go to the hairdresser, Pauline and John had to improvise. John started to cut his hair by himself and Pauline’s as well. Pauline learned to straight perm her hair by herself and said she is delighted that she doesn’t need to go to a salon anymore.
Pauline started making and editing videos and discovered that she enjoys it a lot (and is really good at it!) She and John started their own YouTube Channel.
Thanks to the Covid Pandemic, Ohana got a new teacher! We never expected it but perhaps she was the most surprised of all: Moko Sensei joined our ranks in the Buds class! Since her Taiko lessons had to be cancelled, she found herself with a lot of time and we needed a part-time teacher. What a wonderful coincidence! She has been enjoying her new position and we all appreciate her hard work and the constant good mood and energy she brings to Ohana. Thank you COVID for making this possible!
Taking time for mental health
Shelley said she realized how important it is for her to take care of herself and be more attentive to her needs and feelings, she started daily journaling.
Erika started running, not only to get the physical exercise but also to help clear her mind and relieve herself from the stress that she felt. She said spending too much time on the screen and being inundated with bad and worrying news became too overwhelming. Running provided her with an escape from all this and allowed her to free her mind. She also worked on developing more self-awareness through deep reflection and becoming more intentional.
Like many Moms across the world, Nanako suddenly found herself a working Mom, cook, housekeeper, teacher for her children’s online classes, etc.…all of this with three little human beings attached to her 24/7. She felt she reached rock bottom as a Mom. JK Rowling once said “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life”. Well, so did our Nanako! She realized that no one in the family is happy unless Mom is happy and decided it was time for some “ME-TIME”! She discussed things with her husband, and they agreed that Saturday afternoon would be a time for her to be alone and do what she wanted to do all by herself. She said that, like the pig in the story book “The Pig of happiness” by Edward Monkton, she found a way to make herself happy so that she could spread happiness around herself and to her family.
Liezel and John both said the endless flow of bad and worrying news from all the media was hard to block at first and they felt quite overwhelmed. But through faith and focusing on the good in their lives they managed to get through their hard feelings and see the good side of the current situation.
Liezel reminded herself and her family that waking up in the morning, having our daily meals and the grace of our needs, being healthy and safe, are blessings that we need to be thankful for. Remember to grab every opportunity to be happy because we do not know what tomorrow brings. Focusing on the good in our lives, that is the key to a better mental health.
Enjoying old hobbies…and discovering what was right here.
Shelley finally had the time to paint, and she was very prolific in her art class. We are looking forward to an exhibition of her pieces.
Maryna always loved reading but did not have much time for it and finally, she was able to pick up this long-time habit again. She says that she intends to keep on reading daily even as things go back to normal. John is an avid reader and, in these times, reading helped him to escape the ever-bleak news in the media. Whether it was the Bible, self-help books, fiction, or novels. He was able to read a great deal and find comfort in it. Pauline said she also rediscovered the joy of reading, curled up under a cozy blanket and is so appreciative that she got the time to get back to this long-time hobby that she had no time for before.
Kai is an accomplished world-traveler and being grounded was hard at first. But thanks to the GO-TO campaign, he was able to still do what he loved, without leaving the country and could discover things and places in Japan he had never known/seen.
Since we were in Tokyo during the summer, I spent a lot of time with my children at a small pond near our house. We usually get tadpoles there and keep them until they have almost transformed into baby frogs. The children also fish for small fish and crayfish. Sometimes we see turtles and even saw a water snake once. This year we were in Tokyo when the lotus flowers bloomed. We marveled at the enormous green leaves and the gorgeous light pink flowers with their yellow centers. We had never seen them in bloom before because we usually spend that time of the year in France with my parents.
Time with family, here and there
For all foreigners living in Japan, one of the hardest things was being unable to reunite with our families over the summer. But we were able to enjoy more time with our close family here in Japan. Vieda had both her children back at home instead of away in boarding school. And with all their family abroad working from home, Vieda and Tamara said it was much easier to do video calls with everyone (all in different time zones) They all ended up talking and meeting online more than they used to.
Liezel and Goh san also emphasized how much they enjoyed spending this extra time with their families. Being together in those hard times meant so much for them. We often take the people in our life for granted and this crisis was a wonderful reminder of how we need to appreciate and be grateful for the love that surrounds us. Goh san also helped take care of her friend’s Mom who is now 101!
Tamara said she enjoyed all the time she had with her children. Since they did not go out much, they spent their time playing games, reading, cooking, dancing, planting seeds and doing experiments. I also happen to know that they started raising a family of snails as pets.
My husband was working shorter days to avoid the crowded trains. He was home for dinner most days, which almost never happened before. Once the State or Emergency started, his company allowed all employees to work from home twice a week. It was such a treat for our youngest to have Daddy pick him up from school and take him to the park to play soccer before dinner! Tamara also said her husband was home for dinner a lot more, and that she was grateful for the time spent together, after sometimes cooking with her children.
Moko was happy to finally have time to spend at home with Shelley and, though she was heartbroken to have her Taiko lessons cancelled, she was grateful for all the extra time they got to spend together.
Decluttering our homes and lives, appreciating what we have
Vieda, Liezel, and I all enjoyed cleaning and decluttering our homes. Liezel said it was a great time to think about what we really need to have and all the things that just make our homes and minds too full. When a situation like this one hits, it is not stuff that will help us get through it, it is the love of our family and friends. Let us focus on what really matters and brings us joy and forget about the excess that just weighs us down.
Pauline and John also re-arranged their home to make it cozier than ever. Pauline said that she did not mind the lockdown because she enjoys being in their redesigned home so much now, she has a hard time leaving it!
Sayaka reflected a lot on her life before and after Covid. She realized all the good things that she had taken for granted and all the good things that she still had. She became more appreciative of the latter. The importance of being close and connected to her loved ones became more obvious to her than ever before, and she understood that this is what really matters to her.
Bettering ourselves, learning new skills
Having more time is a great opportunity for us to start studying new topics or deepening our knowledge in fields that we are already familiar with.
While Kai worked on his Master’s in Early Childhood, I finished my Sophrology course and started studying Cognitive Therapy. All this might come into fruition in the form of a workshop in the Spring or when we are free to assemble again.
Moko started to study Spanish and has been enjoying it so much. We heard from Shelley that the walls of their toilet at home are covered with stickers displaying Spanish words on them. So Moko can practice anywhere and anytime! Maybe she can open a Spanish after school class in Ohana?
Sayaka said that before the pandemic she was a very low-tech person and had no idea about online learning, Zoom meetings and all these things that suddenly forced themselves into our daily lives. When she found out she had to do Zoom classes for the Petals children she was quite nervous. But then, she found that she could do it! She said that it turned out to be a great learning opportunity for her and her newly learned skills will surely prove useful in the future. Well done, Sayaka! It is not easy to brave your fear and get out of your comfort zone, but you did it!
So here, you have it! What the Ohana staff see as the positives that came out of this crazy situation. Thank you to all at Ohana! Thank you so much for sharing your positive stories with me and allowing me to write them in this article. The pleasure I had writing them, definitely adds up to my Covid positives. Thank you for your honesty, your positivity, and your endless confidence in that one truth: We’re all in this together!
What about YOU? What was YOUR Covid Positive?
“Appreciate Everyday as a New Day, be happy to be alive and spread love to all” Goh San
