Your silver lining?

[Disney Frenhines]

I've been catching up on crafting, I treated myself to a Disney Scan n Cut machine to make up for my cancelled September trip and have been scrapbooking and sewing. I've also saved money as my biggest treat was to go to a local cafe for cake and tea and as all restaurants and cafes have been closed I've not been able to do that. I never eat out or have takeaway, so that's no different for me.
As a retired singleton with no family I have to admit the only hard thing was not being able to go out with my cat for our drives as non essential travel over five miles from home was banned. Saved a lot on petrol mind you.

 

[tvguy]

The silver lining? Nobody in our family has gotten sick.
Everyone has an "essential" job. DW, DD, DDIL having to physically go to work, DS and I working from home.
A few new experiences. One week furlough meant I got unemployment for the first time in my 63 years. An eye opener. Basic unemployment benefits are pretty generous, and the extra $600 meant I made more that week than I would have working.
No trips planned so no trips canceled. Been to the Doctor and Dentist and had to go through the screening process. Here's hoping people wear masks, and stay home until we can get the current record spike under control.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Well, I quit my job but we are discovering that we are spending so much less that it's okay. My money allowed us to take family on great vacations and save more, but we aren't going anywhere now anyway and aren't spending much money.

We always ate a lot of home cooking, but I've stepped it up a notch. Fun for me, and my husband loves it (he announced we never need to go out again! And on the road trip to pick up our kittens in Idaho, he pointed out we could just bring a cooler and cook in our hotel room from now on! Bless his heart. I am sooo going out again and getting takeout once this is over!

We got two Ragdoll kittens instead of going on vacation this year. The are so adorable. Ginger is the pretty one*, and so sweet. Wasabi gets into all kinds of trouble, and is less shy than her sister. She's down to 7 lives, despite all the kitten proofing I did (we literally cannot have clothes hanging in the closet for now, lol).

*That's a joke. I'm painting their tails pink and green to keep track of who they are visually. I can tell, but mostly based on personality.

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OMG, your kittens are so adorable! We have a muted calico ragdoll--so rare, there are only a couple of pictures of them on Google. But, here's the real kicker--we found her--and her two brothers--on the front yard, right after Hurricane Florence passed over our house. (Literally, right after--an hour after.) Obviously, Florence didn't come with papers or anything, but she's a 1-in-a-million cat. I will warn you--she's trouble! I'll try to post a picture of her later (they're on my iPad, not this computer).

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Here's the gorgeous Florence. Pay no attention to my messy craft room.

 

[disney212]

No one is sick in our family. That's it. All travel canceled. I sit in a dining room chair 9 hours a day working. DH got a 20% pay cut followed by a 50% reduction in hours in early March. Got 1 unemployment check in March. We keep calling but so far no luck, he does qualify for partial. I have a compromised immune system and lung disease so life has stopped for me except for work, cooking and cleaning. Trying to stay hopeful that the checks come and we can make it to WDW in 2020. Given the choice I will be happy to sit in that dang chair for years if it means I keep my family and others safe.

 

[hsmamato2]

OT but I'm loving the pretty kitten pics! I brought home a ragdoll kitten last summer from a tagsale (the owner didn't want her!) that has a smidge of calico here and there on her.... but again, she's an orphan so who knows? Back on topic....
Silver linings? I have to find them,I need them!
It was a long haul until about end of June/July before I saw my family in person,but we had a lot of fun via video chat,zoom and facetime! We played games,sent daily pics,vidoes and jokes to each other...that was fun!
Cooking at home ALL THE TIME. Upped my game, tried lots of new and delicious recipes,and tho sometimes it was tough to buy certain ingredients, we always had plenty... Walmart curbside pickup..... what a GREAT way to shop! I'm hooked.(Never been a walmart fan before this)
Lots of fam time with our little group of 3..... I seriously missed seeing adult ds for months,but we treasured the past few weeks of outdoor firepits and cookout time....
A new appreciation for all the people in my life that I maybe took for granted....and then I couldn't see IRL.
Also a new appreciation for my own home,life and circumstances. Not being able to travel (I firmly believe there should be no leisure travel for a while) I began explroing all the outdoor oportunites around me,right where I live. I'm learning to appreciate the beauty that is my own home state. Yes, I still have that travel bug....but I also love it right here.
More time to watch the local wildlife up close,My fave thing is observing the animal behaviors,esp. birds. Bird families. Love it.
Foraging thru the forests,learning about what grows wild,and is useful. Lots to learn.
Growing a garden.
All things I was too busy for before all this.

 

[EACarlson]

No one in my family has gotten sick and the one person I know that got it has almost fully recovered. I was able to move to a better for me job in my company that let me work from home from March until June, otherwise I would have been furloughed. My wife is able to work from home permanently now, the kids are back in daycare and summer camp with their friends. My big 40th birthday trip to Europe has been cancelled, instead we are taking the kids to see Mt. Rushmore before it gets cancelled.

 

[minnie1012]

Great post especially with so much negativity and disappointment. My silver lining is, I have been walking every day since March and I feel great. Then my cousin who lives in a different country started a Zoom Zumba class for the family. It's been great talking to everyone and getting exercise ( I would never take a Zumba class otherwise, I'm not coordinated at all!) Also, getting to spend so much time as family. My husband is essential and has worked this whole time but I have been working at home. My dd will be a senior in high school this year so next year she is headed to college. It's been nice having this bonus time as she is very social and was out a lot before all of this.

 

[lpandorf]

Fixed up the house. College daughter unexpectedly home with a lot of free time on her hands was a huge help. She's a mechanical engineer and great with tools and design. She built a retaining wall, tiled a back splash in the kitchen and tiled the bathroom. I painted. We cleaned out the basement. We planted a garden for the first time in years and have been enjoying fresh vegetables at dinner every night. I have been working from home since March and enjoy not having a commute and being able to sleep in a bit. Appreciate this extra time with my daughter and teenage son. Thankful I have stayed employed although husband has not been able to work.

 

[Dennis DVC]

Silver lining is now that disney was closed and or is restricted and we can’t go the DVC points finally got a year to catch up to the borrowed Points ! I know I’m. Or alone on that one lol

 

[TarotFox]

I have been wanting a Bengal kitten hardcore and the kitten pictures don't help lol! It's not the right time for me to add another cat... but I think about it...

 

[LovesTimone]

It's been difficult.
I am still working (at a bank) hubby is still working (as a police officer and getting bruised during riots).
Our only child, is an immune suppressed post-transplant kiddo that did AMAZING at self-quarantining even before our state's shut down orders.
But being an only child and quarantined isn't always great for the mental health of a teen.
So, we got a Corgi puppy!!!

Thank you to your husband for his commitment, I hope he is okay. We pray for the all the law enforcement folks and their families during this time...

 

[LovesTimone]

So grateful that DH worked in essential service, Now with things starting to work toward getting back to normal he is even busier...

I have watched my Grandson all summer so our DD could return to work, and we have been having a blast he is 5 and we have been going to swimming lessons, and planting flower and tomatoes, and making cookies, and still squeezing in some learning time... as well as practicing good hand washing, keeping our face mask on, learning to open package for lunch, not touching our face... This time with him has been so wonderful, and I have enjoyed every second... He starts kindergarten in 3 weeks... I can't believe it...

We worked in the yard quite a bit, and did some work inside that we needed to do..

We hauled our boat out, quite a bit... long days on the water are just the best...

I have tried out lots of new recipe's, but we did order out often... Lots of the mom and pop places that needed the business...

We spent alot of time riding around over to both coast, found some places to go back and check out, a new place to haul our boat over to the gulf.

We walked quite a bit, until it just got to hot and humid to deal with... now we are hanging at the pool...swimming...

 

[colormegreen]

Well, unfortunately my work gave me reduced hours so less money, my husband got laid off (nothing to do with COVID), but the silver lining has to be our 4 year olds speech. While his special education class did not honor his IEP from March through June and his speech sessions were virtual which we declined since he didn’t do well with virtual at that point. Being able to work from home and my husband being home to do the summer program with him for special education helped his speech greatly. I’ll take my reduced hours and working from home to hear him hold a conversation. His speech therapy have resumed and his new therapist is fantastic.

Another silver lining, no one in my family has gotten sick with COVID.

 

[strawberrymom2]

I lost most of my family years ago, but found out a couple months ago that my dad I grew up with (deceased) is not my birth father. I found my birth father and not only is he welcoming and warm, but I have lots of new family (also welcoming). Also one of my special needs kids refused to do distance learning which forced me to switch to homeschooling them and I have seen amazing improvements and now have the confidence to homeschool all 3. My husband has been furloughed, giving him time to work on selling his parents house.

 

[easyas123]

Our silver lining has been that we've both been able to continue working full time thru this, and haven't had to lay of any employees, which I'm grateful about. No one in our circle of friends & family (we are in NJ, MD, PA, DE, FL, VA & WV) have gotten Covid, which is very fortunate. We planted sunflowers this year, and they've done so well that I think we will pick up a planter and put in a proper field of them next year- so that will be a nice view from the porch!

 

[AndreaDM]

Well I have been furloughed (don’t expect to be called back though) since April. However having the summer off has allowed me to spend a lot of time with my kids and grandkids. We joined a club back in Feb. and now are so glad we did, most public pools are closed so we are at “our” pool at least several days a week. I’ve also taken up tennis (as a 50 year old) which I wouldn’t have had the time to learn when I was working full time.

 

[MikeNamez]

I've worked hard over the years to build a vast library of excuses and reasons why I can't go to social gatherings with family, friends and coworkers. I finally don't have to worry about that anymore and never need to leave my house.

 

[disneyseniors]

Thanks for this thread, it made me think of positive things
I hope that people realize how important communicating IN PERSON with other people is to our well being. Technology is great, but we must not forget to look someone in the eyes and See them while we communicate. It is so easy to detach from someone online, and maybe say things you wouldn't say in person. Also, you can't see their reactions and feelings while communicating.
On another note, I have been saving money like crazy. I never realized how much I spend on "things". I also realize that I need to have a backup of each item I deem essential; not hoarding but replacing the last one and buying another.

 

[DLgal]

I have several silver linings. Our income wasn't disrupted. My husband got to come home early from a year deployment. We have drastically grown our savings account. My teen boys are thriving in quarantine because they are both autistic and antisocial anyway, so this has basically been no different that usual for them. I'm not worried about their mental health so much. No one that I know has had the virus. Everyone is healthy.