The lockdown period was not all about staying cooped up for me. If you have read my previous two posts, you will also know that we took some initiates to help people in need during the pandemic. But it was also a fun time, learning new things and new ways to keep in touch.
I am big on meeting family, so missed my visits to my parents the most. I would visit them at least twice a week. The last year, for the first time in 43 years I spent my birthday apart from them and could not visit them for 4 months at a stretch. Though my dad is on WhatsApp, he was not comfortable making calls. So after a month or so, I taught him to use the WhatsApp Video Call feature and things got a little better after that as at least I could see them even if could not physically meet them.
Similarly, we also had 2 landmark Birthday celebrations – two of my cousins turned 60 & 50 respectively and two landmark Silver Jubilee Wedding Anniversaries. We had two weddings and one engagement. All of which we attended and enjoyed on Zoom Video Calls. Though we sorely missed dressing up in Kanjeevarams for such occasions, this was a new experience too of connecting and sharing the joy via the internet. This also allowed many older relatives and their caretaker relatives to enjoy in the same way as others without feeling that they were missing out as they would normally do as wouldn’t be able to attend a function. Here too, I turned teacher for my father (role reversals 🙂 ) and taught him to install Zoom and connect to calls. I also bought them a tripod selfie stick which made it easier to log in and stay on these calls which going about other duties.
With friends too, digital was the way of life. We are a group of 13 girls who would catch up pretty often as we live in the same apartment complex. Of course, over the years many have moved away to different cities and countries. But the rest would catch up often. This was sorely missed by all. With many feeling like they did not have time for themselves with other family members at home 24×7, we decided to try an online Housie which was a great hit. We would normally play Housie when we met but people in other cities could not participate. This one allowed all to participate. I conducted the Housie on WhatsApp messages and money was collected & distributed digitally. We did this once every week for nearly 2 months and had a lot of fun!
We girls had initially bonded through Dance Classes and we decided to do a fun video on the popular song Kudi Nu Nachne De. Each of us shot our parts individually and it was edited and put together. That was a fun experience too, even for me who has two left feet and can’t dance to save my life 🙂 .
I also attended many online classes. Some were for cooking/baking, some to enhance my work-related skills while others were to satisfy my artistic cravings. I did many decoupage projects to give a new look. Many smaller craft projects were created as gifts to friends and family. Of course, I spent a great deal of time reading as well. My garden too shows the results of the extra hours put in as it is now lush and green!
I also became a pet parent for the 2nd time with the arrival of my naughty Dalmatian – Smokey Ponday. Though I was a pet parent earlier too to Scotty, I had missed out on the puppy phase as I was petrified of dogs then. Click here if you want to read about my journey with Scotty. This was a new experience and Smokey ensured that he kept me on my toes and constantly entertained with his antics. From vet visits to the need for cuddling & love, training, change in food routines, and proudly sharing videos of him with friends & family – my life has changed for the better with him in it. Puppy experiences with him also led me to blog about many things to help new pet parents or prospective ones, as the last 2 years have seen unprecedented growth in pet parents.
These are some of my fond memories of the last two years when life was not what we are normally used to. What are the things that brought you joy and made life a little better during the pandemic? Do connect with me through the comments below.
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Mojo Box – A great way to sample brands before buying them.
Your two years sound pretty fruitful. Last year for me was 4 1/2 months of sheer joy as I had my son and grandsons with me. 2021 has been the most wretched year in all my life. I lost my son and the world seems really gloomy.
Wow, thats seems to be quite a fruitful year Vasu. Your post gave me an idea that may be I should also do a recollection post sonner. Wonderful post as usual.
Pandemic was a life changer for me. I learnt the importance of “Less is more”. Got into content space and added so many skills. Btw, I love the names you gave to your pets.
You spent this lockdown time nicely 🙂 I too did lots of new things like painting , embroidery 🙂 Watched some Turkish series , that was a new experience 🙂
My lockdown turned my life upside down, now I don’t like getting out of the house at all. I hardly did anything creative except taking a few online classes. But yes, you really did well..
You’ve certainly adapted to digital life well, adjusting every aspect of your social activities to an online format. Sounds like you made good use of the time spent under lockdown.
Your post is the perfect example of how to make the best of what is offered and living it up. You have surely been quite active. I really enjoyed reading it. For me, I launched my blog during lockdown 🙂
Awesome! Loved how you turned adversity into an opportunity to learn new things. Comparing myself, I just regretted staying at home all the time, missing important people:)
*attending a couple of online functions was a relief!
Wow, Vasumathi. You have definitely been quite busy during the lockdown. Thank God for technology. Work took a priority for me with most service providers and brands moving online.
I had a mixed feelings. I learned new skills like writing a book , then some good blogger friends , online courses and yes , all this made me comfortable with the changes at my workplace.
You had a very fruitful year. I enjoyed writing more this year and want to continue the same .
Hi Vasumathi, a lot of this is so relatable. I wrote an entire A to Z series on my blog about my lockdown experiences and I’m sure it will be so interesting to look back and read those posts later. Much of the stuff you did, I did too. I also recently wrote an article about the changing pet care industry with the post-pandemic boom in pet parenting, for New Indian Express… Perhaps you’ll be interested in reading it? You can just visit the New Indian Express website and search for my name or the title of the article ‘Meet the Pawrents’… Would love to know your thoughts!