3 Weeks in Quarantine – Silver Linings

In everything there is beauty. In the worst moments in life there is space for the remarkable. It’s not like any of us would wish for a pandemic, but it’s forced us to slow down and to dig deep.

For me it’s forced me to find ways to connect with other people. This blog has been great, but it’s also made me reach out more. To people maybe I don’t connect with often enough. Checking in on a daily basis. Making sure they’re OK and to let them know that they’re not alone. Maybe I should have done this more often before. But this whole thing has made me appreciate those that I – perhaps – took for granted before. And it’s exposed friendships that I thought were strong but weren’t really. But that’s OK. Both of these things are good information to have going forward.

And if you have to work at remaining in contact, and you do the work – even if it’s just friends across the city – these relationships only get stronger over time. My meditation group started out virtual. I had only met one of the women before. We’re all spread out across the globe and meditating through this same WhatsApp group. But now, as we’ve shared our struggles, our dark days, our blocks, our bliss – we have gotten closer than I think we ever would have before. And this group has become a life line for me in their positivity, endless encouragement, vulnerability, and acceptance. It’s amazing how community can be created our of thin air with thousands of miles separating each of us.

‘Be Bold and powerful forces will come to your aid’

And I’ve gotten creative and looked for other ways to connect with Emilie. She, like all of us, is doing the best she can under the circumstances 8000 miles away. So daily, I’ve taken to making silly videos for her to make her laugh. The first one was me pretending to be Kylie Jenner giving a demonstration of ‘Balcony Makeup’ in my bathroom. Here in Spain we are far from our neighbors across the street. So we struggle to see expressions on their faces as we are all out clapping and waving at our 8pm nightly gratitude gathering. So I put on enough ‘clown make-up’ so that my neighbors could see if I was smiling or sad. Just recommendations for the newly initiated into quarantine. No botox for me, but I drew the lips only 200% bigger than my own. Did my hair BIG with lots and lots of eye shadow and smokey eye. And some serious contour bronzer.

Emilie loved it! Or she said she did. So yesterday I did ‘Fun with Hats!’. An exploration on my hat collection and how to chose the right hat for your day under lock down. Today will be another adventure in accessories – ‘The History of Scarves and How to Tie Them.’ Tomorrow? Don’t tell her but I’ll be pitching a tent in the living room and camping out. Complete with all the plants from the balcony as ‘forest’. Yes, I know what you’re thinking – ‘Kelli, how do you create such entertainment with skyrocketing production values?’ And to that I say, it’s not easy, my friend. But we do the best we can with what we have.

We are coming up on our 3 week quaraniversary. We are still here. I think it’s supposed to be getting harder but for me it’s actually easier. I find I have let go of all my inhibitions and expectations. I just do what makes me happy now. Right now. Today that might be 3 yoga sessions. Tomorrow it might be something else. But whatever it is – that’s what I will do.

Someone who discovered my blog recently messaged me and said – I can’t believe you guys just picked up and moved to Spain. And it made me think back to 2017 when we made this decision. I told her my motto has always been Be Bold and Powerful forces will come to your aid. And I’m grateful to that person for making me remember that. I hope that this virus has reminded us that our life is precious, every moment of it, and so are the people we spend it with – in person or virtually. So we shouldn’t waste one second of it. We can huddle afraid or be fearless. And after 3 weeks, my fearless self has finally returned. Just in time.

Be safe, stay sane and stay inside. Peace 🙏