I read an interesting piece on why we should use the CV pause to evaluate what to take with us into life when we are able to return to “normal.” It gave me food for thought. Of everything I used to do, I only miss a few things: going to the library, going to the playground with MG, and seeing friends. My brain has adjusted to a surprising level of nothingness. Things like going out to eat, going to museums, anything NYC-specific, all seem like things I can do without. Going to the office I can definitely do without. I’ve always been really good at living in my own micro-neighborhood. Since having the baby, we have done all of our errands and excursions within a 15-minute walk of our apartment except for trips to my parents (when we tended to stay within 15 minutes of their house). So what would I take with me from this time?

• shorter work days
• more emphasis on simple pleasures (a post coming up about this)
• leisurely pace for everything, because there is nowhere to be
• social events being an occasional delightful event rather than obligatory
• less time in front of technology (I try to leave my phone somewhere after the work day, and take the rest of the day as a tech break)
• spending a lot of time with family