Things I'm genuinely grateful for that happened because of this pandemic.

I don't believe everything happens for a reason. Or at least a divinely inspired kind of reason. I wrote about this before (that's a link, it's hard to tell) if you want to read a bunch of other thoughts on it. It was like 5 years ago, but I re-read it and I still agree with me. The basic summary is this: I don't believe God gives us suffering (period. but also, specifically for some kind of reason), but I DO believe that God creates life out of death. Translated in non-faith speak: I don't think our suffering and heartache is given to us in order to teach us, bless us later, lead us down a new path... but I DO think sometimes those things happen anyway.

So, when it comes to a global pandemic, I do NOT think that God gave us this pandemic to teach us something or bless us somehow after we've grieved half a million deaths in our country alone, or as a punishment or to force us to change our ways (I also just don't believe God gave us this pandemic at all)...

BUT, like lots of you, there are things that I have learned, things that have happened, ways that I've changed and I've noticed in others as well, that are all lovely and worth being grateful for. Here's a list of some of those things:

1. I've spent more time outside than possibly any other year of my life, for sure all of the Minnesota years (going on 13 now).
2. We've done a bunch of projects around the house and our living room looks better than we hoped it would (and who are we kidding we all know that "we" here means Jesse).
3. Lots of quality time with Aaron.
4. I'm really thankful that I was working from home during the yuckiest parts of morning sickness.
5. Regular park playdates with Aaron's daycare friends and becoming friends with their parents.
6. Weekly Zoom hangout with my college besties who all live like 2,000 miles away. Why we weren't doing this for years, I have no idea. But I am so thankful we are now!
7. Creative gatherings with family and friends outside/online. Christmas outside in Minnesota was never something I would have thought of doing or wanted to do, but this year it was the safest option and it ended up being lovely and meaningful. Plus, I never get to see my CA fam on Christmas or Easter, and we got to do both because we learned about zoom. 
8. Any time together with church people is special to me. To see people show up wearing parkas and blankets wrapped around them so they can see each other outside and pray together is beautiful. It's a different level of commitment to each other that we always hope is there, and it turns out it really is.
9. Some of my CA family have been coming to our church because they can now, because it's livestreamed on youtube. Also, people who were not church people can just pop in on our services and connect to community or faith in ways that they hadn't been able to before.   
10. The ease of some meetings being online. I miss being in person, but there is a convenience to Zoom, and I kind of hope we keep some quick meetings online. 
11. I've learned to appreciate (and/or deal with) time alone, less scheduled time, and just being at home for a whole day or days at a time. These are all hard things for me, but I'm glad to have felt that change.
12. I noticed the very subtle changes in seasons from day to day (well, some days they were less subtle... it snowed and was 80 degrees in Oct I think). 
13. I have gotten to know my neighbors better while going for walks. I feel like my mom, who in our old neighborhood would be gone on her daily walk for like an hour, not because the route was that long, but because she chatted with half the neighborhood along the way. 
14. We started weekly "family movie nights" on Sundays. 
15. Some leadership skills- a little more self-differentiation, more of my own voice, making 80x the number of decisions, and clearer sense of purpose. So, that's cool.
16. One day when there is something similar to what normal used to be (maybe we'll even figure out how to do normal better), I am hopeful I will not squander or take for granted: friends, hugs, church inside (and singing!!), restaurants, travel, visiting my family, or my health for a long time.
17. I am learning how to garden!
18. I've gotten to give my kiddo a little bit of my own childhood- instead of being busy or going lots of places and spending money on activities: we hike, bike, go for walks, play games, do crafts, play in the pop up pool all summer long, etc.
19. We bought a patio heater.
20. Deeper relationships with people. Relationships are so much more intentional than they used to be. 

Well, that's long enough. I bet there are more. If I could go back in time and somehow prevent the pandemic, I would. But, that's not a thing any of us can do, so I'll try to just give thanks for the joy I've found because of it.