5 questions you should ask yourself and your family before life goes back to “normal.”

More than likely, we will be talking about this pandemic for many, many years to come. For a good number of people, these weeks of quarantine have been, at best, extremely inconvenient and, at worst, a complete nightmare.

However, with the proper perspective, one could view this time as a great opportunity, a gift even. We have all learned a lot.

So as we begin talking about putting the pieces back together, rejoining the world, and getting back to “normal life,” we would like to invite you to take a moment and reflect on questions such as these:

1. During quarantine, what lessons did I learn about myself, my personality, and how I deal with conflict, stress, and uncertainty? How can I heal and grow through this?
   
   Well, we’ve been stay-at-home, work-from-home parents for a long time, but this quarantine has stretched us even still. As world schoolers, we’re used to being free to roam and explore! So we’ve had to get more creative with unschooling and just doing life from home. We wrote in an earlier blog about being patient and present parents. This is a huge one for us.
   
2. What healthy routines or activities did we experience during quarantine that we would like to continue? (i.e. Family meals, board games, reading, naps, etc.)
   
   We’ve loved the family meal around the dinner table every night. Electronics are put away and conversation is buzzing. In order to engage everyone around the table, we’ve been playing games like telephone or the alphabet game. This is something we plan to continue.
   
3. What aspects of my “normal life” do I realize now were unhealthy practices and how can I remove them from my life? (i.e. busyness, stress, spending habits, etc.)  
   
   Comparison. Guarding ourselves from living under the oppression of others’ expectations specific to our way of living.
   
4. What did I learn about my priorities in life? Does something need to change? 
   
   This pandemic has given us confidence to continue to pursue sustainable living and community-centered culture. Our family is a messy work in progress, but with grace and gratitude, little by little, we are building and becoming the family and community we want to see multiplied in this world.
   
5. As a result of what I’ve learned, what are a few tangible goals I want to strive for as we emerge back out into the world?
   
   Coming out of this pandemic, we plan to be more intentional about helping other families on their journeys.