Four Silver Linings from the COVID-19 Pandemic

When things are tough, we rise up. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. When a pandemic sweeps the world… what can you do but make the most of it?

We don’t know about you, but we never imagined spring 2020 would start like this. The COVID-19 pandemic has been frustrating, frightening, distressing, and disruptive. It’s also been challenging, ever-changing, and confusing.

And yet, while it’s been all those things, it’s also quietly drawn out the positive side of many situations. When there’s something to smile about, the smiles are pure and genuine. When there’s a kind gesture, its meaningfulness is magnified. Throughout it all, there have been poignant reminders that when you look for the good, you find it.

While we can all agree that maintaining social distancing, wearing face masks, and staying put can feel like a loss, we’re also experiencing more of a few things that we hope stick around long after the pandemic is over:

1. More Gratitude – You don’t have to travel far on our campus until you’ll hear a “thank you.” The gratitude is bountiful, and it’s expressed freely and genuinely for kind gestures, big and small. Whether it’s a Recreation Therapist helping style a resident’s hair in lieu of getting into the beauty shop, or a team member taking home a free half-gallon of Wisconsin milk (via Sassy Cow Creamery) or cheese (via Koepke Famiy Farms) that our organization purchased to support local dairies, there’s a lot to be grateful for.
   
2. More Teamwork – If there’s ever been a time when working closely with teammates and peers helps the greater good, it’s now. Although maintaining physical social distance, the feeling of togetherness now is stronger than ever. Getting through a pandemic is easier, happier, and more bearable with a great team and group of friends by your side.
   
3. More Simplicity – There’s joy in the simple things right now, and it’s making us happy. For example, the sun streaming through a window with the social media trend of Happy Heart paper cutout decorations makes heart-shaped shadows on the floor, which makes us take pause and smile. That pause is a welcome one. A simple letter received in the mail is appreciated even more now than before. Every moment of a simple video call is relished between husband and wife who can’t see each other in person. We’re not taking anything for granted and appreciating the small things.
   
4. More Creativity – When it comes to helping our residents (and co-workersa) stay engaged, maintain some semblance of a “normal life,” and stay optimistic during this, the ideas have been flowing. To combat potential feelings of isolation, we requested “Sunshine Mail” from the community to share with all residents, and boy, did the community deliver! Since we can’t host our usual group ice cream socials or happy hours, we got creative and took the refreshments on the road with doorstep delivery. We’ve implemented window visits, scavenger hunt challenges, an outdoor wellness circuit, and even a traveling group art project to keep things interesting and fun.

While we’d rather not have had to experience this pandemic in the first place, we can certainly shift our perspective to one of appreciation for the silver linings and the good it brought out in us. Stay safe.