QUARANTINE TIME OVER COFFEE – Ladies Who Online 

Denial is the right word for my attitude and behavior at the beginning.

March 18 (Wednesday): I’ve decided that nothing serious is happening. We’re fine. I’ll have lunch with my daughter and try to convince myself and the hubby that everything is okay. It’s just social media overreacting, which almost always includes a lot of drama.

March 19 (Thursday): I was trying to convince my husband to go out for dinner so we can enjoy a nice meal over music, then boom! Out of the blue, things became so real. A shut down was immediately announced. Companies started requiring employees to officially work from home.

It took me a few days to adjust mentally. And it was during one beautiful morning, while reading a book (Sapiens) and sipping Turkish coffee on my balcony, that I came to realize some things. I thought about the changes that personally happened to me over the years, and the changes that happened to everything around me. That’s when it hit me, “Dalia, you need to embrace the change and take advantage of it.” This was challenging for me as the idea of staying home and practicing social distancing felt awkward. I’m an outgoing, working mother who does a lot of social activities. I needed to exert a lot of effort when it came to my mental health so I could accept what was happening.

I know that we’re capable of facing changes in our lives. It’s just a matter of preparing ourselves on how to deal with things and thinking about the advantages that can come out of our situations. Of course, it’s always better to do things willingly. In my case, I know that I can use my extra time by acquiring new knowledge. Believe it or not, I have finished reading a few books, learned a new language, and started taking online piano classes with my daughter, Laila. I have been using a nice, medium-sized keyboard, which I got from the Internet, and it’s perfect for beginners like me. I now know how to play Bella Ciao.

Aside from acquiring new skills, I continue to enjoy spending time with my family. We love talking to each other, playing silly games, cooking together, and watching our Laila share her drawings or book summaries. I also relish inventing face masks with my daughter and trying them on. Oh, you can just imagine how many pictures we took while wearing those masks! I also love the pillow talks and shared laughter with my husband. This is the kind of life that I recall experiencing a few years back while living at my parent’s house. It’s these precious moments with my family that I will cherish the most. Experiencing these moments makes me feel blessed to be quarantined at home.

Let’s try to put aside thoughts of Covid-19, the panic, or the negative energy from social media. But instead, enjoy spending some quality time with your loved ones as it’s something that we’ve always asked for. We may not have chosen our circumstances now, and may not accept it readily. But what I came to realize is that when I started accepting and embracing change, my mind, body, and soul began to act differently. I felt more mature and content in some way.

It’s going to be another adjustment period for me now that the government has eased some restrictions. My mind is telling me to stay in quarantine a little bit more, as I slowly convince myself of this new normal. But as long as we are open to change, nothing is impossible. Remember that we can always find time for small things to keep us happy. We don’t need several hours with our kids and partners. We just need to spend quality time with them.