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Being a travel blog, we normally discuss travel related topics, like travel gear, itineraries, inspiration, and resources. While travel is still obviously the primary focus here, we also have a life outside of just traveling, especially now in the world of COVID. That’s why we decided to talk about how we have been dealing with life and COVID lately.
On March 13th, the schools we work at suddenly closed because of COVID. We, as well as many other people, assumed this would be a quick 2-4 week shutdown of everything before retuning to “normal.”
But here we are over 8 months later and not back to “normal.” Whatever normal even is anymore.
When things first started to shut down, we basically just stayed at home and did our best to transition to working from home, even though it was definitely not the same as working at in-person school. We missed normalcy, but like many, did our best to enjoy time at home because we only thought it would be a month.
As we all know, that month turned into 2, then 3, then 4, and here we are.
We’re no longer wiping down our groceries—remember when that was a thing?—but thankfully, we have been focusing on ourselves as well as trying to see family and some friends in safe, distanced environments.
Taking this time to really work on ourselves and what direction we want to go in the future has really helped us. We worked with Expat and Life Coach Lauren Bonheim who helped us not only find some direction moving forward in our lives, but also revamp and reenergize our blog.
If you haven’t noticed, we’ve made some updates around here and have really been focusing on how to best serve our readers—yeah, that’s you—moving forward.
If you are thinking of moving abroad, looking for a life coach, are an expat, or are just feeling a little lost and need help, contact Lauren. She is a wonderful coach who really helped us find direction and provided us with a plethora of resources to achieve our dream.
Other than working on our blog to try to provide you with the best resources to have authentic travel experiences, we started our Travel Planning Services. While it hasn’t really taken off due to people not traveling because of COVID, it is a service we look forward to in the future, especially with the recent news of possible vaccines and people planning huge trips once COVID is “over.”
As a shameless plug for our own travel planning and coaching services—in case you are interested—we will work with you in order to find out about you, your goals, and your life, in order to create the very best personalized trip for you that will help you get the most out of your travels.
It could be a relaxing trip to the beach with authentic day trips or excursions. It might also be an adventure trek through a forgein country meant to push you out of your comfort zones and help you discover what you are capable of.
Whatever you want to get out of your trip or whatever you are searching for, we work with you to help personalize and book the trip of your dreams that will help you get to the place you want to be!
Aside from starting to offer our travel planning services, over the last several months we have been keeping ourselves busy with work, cleaning our apartment, cooking, trying out new hobbies, traveling and exploring some national and local parks, and just taking time to realize that it’s okay to not feel okay.
We, like many out there, have felt a lot of ups and downs since COVID hit. Some weeks, or even days, seem like they are going well only to be followed by down weeks or days. With Wisconsin becoming a COVID hotspot in the US, we haven’t even really felt safe going to distanced outdoor patios or too many other places, so it’s been takeout for us.
This feeling of being trapped in our small apartment, especially with our love for travel and the trips COVID already canceled, has started to hit us recently. The change in weather has really made this apparent too as longer walks, runs, and just generally spending time outside seem like they are coming to an end, and fast!
Luckily though, we are still working, safe, and healthy. This is ultimately the most important thing and what we have to continue to remind ourselves.
Once this is over—or maybe it’s never over and there’s a new normal—we will be able to travel again, see friends, hug family, and do all the things we used to love doing. We might even have some new hobbies too that we’ve picked up during quarantine!
In the meantime, we will continue to focus on our own mental health and staying safe and healthy, while life continues with COVID as a part of it.
