5 Things that I will miss after this Pandemic is over !

Hello my morning people, how are you? Welcome to yet another episode of Morning cup of Sunshine podcast. I am so glad you are here with me today. I am so excited to talk to you today. I always look forward to the recording day. This is becoming my most favorite time of the week. This week I am going to talk about 5 things that I am going to miss after all this pandemic, lockdown ends. Of course, I completely understand the severity of the situation and how so many have lost their loved ones and jobs. My heart really goes out for them. This is by no means an episode to underestimate the situation. I totally want this to be over and everyone has a safe and healthy life. This episode is just a way to look at the worst situation with some positive vibes. It is about making lemonade when life gives you lemons. It is just a fun episode and I want to talk about a few things that kept me going during this pandemic and face this unexpected year. I hope you understand, we had enough serious talks about the pandemic all over the media. This is just my way of reflecting on the past few months and looking at the brighter side of it. So, are you ready to take this fun ride?

I guarantee you, you are on a fun ride. So, let’s start but before that as usual a happy moment of the week.

This past couple of weeks, I am seeing a steady growth in my podcast. Lot of new members joined this beautiful community. I am seeing quite a few new reviews on the podcast apps. I love hearing from you. Your comments, reviews, messages and sometimes even a phone call always make my day brighter. Seeing the growing community by the week is making my heart so full of joy, that I can not express in words. I am incredibly grateful for all your love and support. This year was definitely the most unexpected and uncertain year. But, it gave me the courage to start something which I only dreamt of. It gave me some amazing new friends. I can not believe we are a community of more than 260 amazing, inspiring and inspired people. I wish we grow leaps and bounds in the upcoming year. I am speaking from my heart but every single listen to the episode, every single comment, every single review, and every single request to join the Facebook group makes that moment the happiest moment of the day for me. This week, there were definitely so many of them, so thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. I am cherishing every single moment like this. What about you my friend? How was your week? What brought you joy this week? Would you like to share with us? Every Sunday, I always post a happy moment of the week in my Facebook group - Morning Cup of Sunshine community. I would love for you to join and share your happy moments of the week.. I would definitely love to read them. so , keep them coming as usual.

Alright, shall we start this fun episode? Things that I will miss after this pandemic is over.

This is definitely the highlight of my months since March. I have had so many friends’ reunions since March. I talked to so many of my friends after many many years. We got together on zoom and chatted for hours. The weekends were filled with all the laughter, nostalgia and fun. I loved seeing them, their faces after years. The school friends, college friends, old colleagues , you name it, we all connected as if the years in between have never passed. We shared so many fun memories, we teased each other, we got to know their families too. It was really like a bright sun ray of hope and cheer amongst the cloudy and gloomy days. Same thing for family reunions. I loved talking to my side and Rushi’s side of the family. We talked for hours. We played games like Kahoot, charades, and Pictionary. It was so much fun. Even Mihir had video calls with all his cousins and they had a blast. We visit India every single year in December, We start shopping, packing from November. This year, we are missing this badly. We won’t be able to see our families this year. It makes me so sad but somehow seeing them every weekend over zoom is making me feel a little better. I wish I could see them in person soon but till then these video calls are keeping me going. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my friends and family over these video calls. We made so many beautiful memories, that we will cherish for years to come. We were able to connect with some of my long lost friends and rekindle our friendships. I am certainly going to miss all that fun time spent chatting away with friends and family after all this comes back to normal and everyone again starts their normal and busy, go-go life.

I know, I know, it is tiring sometimes, but having them around is fun too. Their continuous chatter, their smiles, their presence and even their non-stop fights, that’s what makes my day brighter. Before March, we all used to leave the home in the morning for jobs or school and see each other in the evening. It always felt like we are fitting in all the precious moments in the small bucket of time that we have in the evening. Both my kids always had so much to say and so little time. Of course, we cherished every second of it. But definitely, it was a rushed evening sometimes. But now, I get to be with them for more time. Even though, both I and Rushikesh work full time from home and Mihir has virtual school, it is a nice feeling to have them close by. Maitreyi is always my stress buster. Whenever I feel stressed because of work, just talking to her for 5 minutes releases all my tension. She is like a constant source of joy, it is always fun in her world. Of course, just like most of you, it is hard for us to manage everything when kids are home 24*7. I totally understand that they also need a social interaction and it will be definitely great if things get back to normal but I have decided to cherish every single moment that I am getting with them. I have decided to be grateful that I can work from home and keep my kids safely at home. Not all parents are getting to this and my heart goes out for them. So, instead of complaining how difficult it is to have kids home, I have decided to soak in those moments even if it means soaking in the clutter that they create every single minute. Trust me, it grows exponentially in my house, especially when they start playing pretend but I have made my peace with it. I am okay to let go of my clean and tidy house if that means my kids are happy and doing the best that they can. I am trying to find pockets of time for me . It is hard these days with everyone around all the time but I still try to find that time in such a way that I can spend more time with my kids. What 2020 taught me is that life is short and unpredictable, kids are going to be small for only so long. I am surely going to miss them being around when everything comes back to normal and we start our old routine. My heart is so full now seeing them grow, I am learning new things about my own kiddos every single day. I love seeing Mihir grow into a mature and kind boy. I love seeing him talking to my sister’s daughter every day, and I love seeing their great bond and connection. I absolutely love seeing Maitreyi’s personality showing up through her small quirks, and mind you she has a big personality. I am definitely going to miss them once they start going to actual, in person school. What about you? I would love to hear from you about your take on this..

Do you know what I noticed in the last few months? Most of us are stuck at home, working from home, we are trying to navigate this reality the best way that we can. It is not easy. One of my friends has a small baby and she has no help right now. She is working and fulfilling her work commitments but she has to work at night when the baby is asleep. My other friend has a dance studio and teaches dance there but with this pandemic happening, she is taking online classes from home with her two little girls running around. My other friend owns a small shop back in India and you know the small business owners are affected the most during this pandemic time. But my friend, she is a fighter, she definitely struggled and to tell you in her own words, it was the most difficult time, it was easy to let go of her staff but it was more human to keep them on board even when that means pinching her own savings. I am so proud of her. I loved the word she used, it is more human, Even in huge company’s town hall meetings or CEO addresses, they now easily talk about the new puppy that they got and how their family is loving it. We as a society are becoming more understanding. We generally start our work call with a well meant small talk , we genuinely ask each other about them. We have developed little more understanding of the situations people are in currently. We know now, everyone is struggling , some more some less but the struggle is real. We know parents are doing their best to manage work and home. Even the stay at home moms or dads are doing the best they can to keep their kids occupied with some activities. I have seen a friend who has to manage her 2 year old the entire day and keep her busy as her husband is working in an extremely high pressure job and is on continuous calls. It is not easy for anybody, no matter if you are working or not, no matter if you have kids or not. It is new and changed reality for everyone but what came good out of this, is the way we started understanding each other, the way we started showing empathy to each other, the way we humanized the work culture. I hope we continue to carry on with the same compassion, empathy once everything returns to normal.

You know what else I am going to miss once we start going to the office instead of working from home? The funny moments during the audio or video calls. Those two have their own fun elements. If you attend an audio call, I am sure you must have noticed the confusion of mute/unmute button. “Sorry, I was speaking on mute” I have heard this sentence at least a hundred times during this past month. On the contrary, sometimes people forget to mute their call when they are not speaking and then you get to listen to the puppy barking in the background, kids shouting or watching TV or sometimes, the interesting conversation amongst the other members of their home. You won’t believe it but my friend was telling me one day that she heard an entire recipe in the background while on a call with her colleague. If you go on a video call, then it has its own charm. It starts with setting up the camera in such a way that it avoids all the clutter in the background. Of course, then we found out about virtual backgrounds. That was the most clever invention of this time, I am sure it was invented for someone like us who always struggle to hide the toys, books, in all the mess around them. The fun part of these video calls is getting ready for them. Most of us have not touched the formal pants or jeans in months, am I right? So, it is way too much of an effort to get ready. I know, most of us just get ready and wear a good shirt but keep that pajama bottom as is for these video calls. I am no different. I am surely going to miss those comfy clothes and all the fun that happens in preparation of these calls. What about you? Will you miss it?

Finally, this is my favorite one. I always had a go-go evening. My son always had some or the other classes in the evening. It was always a rushed evening between cooking, all the drop offs and pickups. But now it feels way more calm. I exercise right after my office hours end. It helps me create a boundary between my work time and family time. It helps me clear my thoughts and feel energized. After my workout, it's all about kids. We play together for a long time. It started getting cold here, we even had snow a couple of times already, so it is hard to play outside everyday but whenever we get a chance we go downstairs and play with them. Otherwise, we play indoor games and just relax and spend time together. I love cooking with my daughter, she loves to help out.

I love to read with my son. We both are reading Harry Potter these days. He is already on book 6 and I am still on book 2 but we love to read together and relax. It is our way of bonding. These clam evenings help me prepare better for tomorrow. I love this time of the year. It is already so cozy and festive. But this year, we are able to spend this time together and frankly after the crazy year that we all have had, I started appreciating this time even more. This year really taught me to appreciate what I have. This year really showed me what really matters. We can survive without a fancy holiday, a trip to the mall, big and elaborate birthday parties but what really matters is your loved ones, their presence. I am soaking in every moment that I get with my family. I am 100% sure the way our evenings look currently, is going to change once everything comes back to normal. We might not get this much time but I have really learned a life lesson here. I might have to resume all those drop offs but the sense of calmness and serenity is what I will hold on to forever.

These are my 5 things that I will miss very much when everything goes back to normal. I do wish that everything goes back to normal and there is no more suffering, no more losses of loved ones. I do wish good health to each and everyone. But still, I wish we learn something from this pandemic and whatever small good came from this, let’s hold on to it. Let’s not forget the lessons that we learnt in these few months. Every black cloud has a silver lining. Only in the dark, you can see the stars, right? So, let’s train our mind to see the good in every situation, every human being, every challenge that you face and let’s become the better version of yourself.