I love Facebook Memories. I typically start my day with a glass of water, than a cup of coffee, and a stroll down memory lane. Over the past few months my Facebook Memories have been flooded with moments from last spring, when the world shut down. I remember making a vow to capture the beauty of those hard moments. The pictures not only remind me of the good that came of that time, but also the things that kept us motivated and moving forward, the things that helped us make those memories and find joy. These are my top five pandemic essentials…

#1 - Rain-boots

One thing that literally saved us was being outside. My guess is that was true for many people, not just my family. I remember feeling like our world was closing in on us and that we were confined to our homes, it was suffocating. When we decided to escape to our lake house in New York it gave us the space we needed to explore and be safe. After a few days I realized that the kids tennis shoes were not going to hold up to the damp chilly spring we were having and so rain-boots became essential. I quickly surveyed the options on Amazon and had them shipped immediately. The three littles all use the Lonecone Elementary Collection and they are perfect for tromping through creeks, scouring the lakeshore for treasures and getting lost in the woods. I found myself trying to control situations that centered around keeping the kids clean out of a need to minimize the chaos, but efficiency wasn’t what our world needed, and so I let go. We would go and explore and then before hopping into the van to head home all boots would get thrown into the trunk along with any wet or muddy clothing. Yes there were a few drives home with naked kiddos in the back. I would hose off the rain-boots and then they would be lined up outside the main door ready for the next adventure. My rain-boots pictured below were really old, but we utilized them so much that earlier this year I decided to invest in tall black Hunter boots, they are still a staple for my wardrobe and the kids.

#2 - A project

It couldn’t be just any project just meant to fill time and keep us busy, but rather a project that was rooted in connection and purpose. A lot of people thought I was crazy, that I would embrace a passion project while also teaching virtually, guiding my children through school, and just keeping us all alive, safe and well. But those passion projects are what broke up the mundane routine, they gave us purpose by also bringing us closer to others even though we were isolated. One project that we wrapped our arms around was making and sharing Love Rocks. A few months after moving into our current home our neighbors tragically lost their two nieces. As a way to preserve the good that they both brought to this world, their parents started encouraging others to spread love and joy by making and distributing these Love Rocks. Their story has always stayed with me and we have made Love Rocks before, but not with the same determination and drive as we did last spring. After cutting tiny hearts out of fabric, my mom and I would gather the kids around the table and we would use modge podge to adhere the hearts. Once they dried, our most favorite part, was leaving them for others to find. Sometimes we were intentional and left them purposely on the doorstep of our neighbor or at our family’s cottage up the road on the swing, but other times we would just leave them in spots along our adventures, hopeful that someone would come across one and it would warm their heart. It worked! Our small town has a Facebook page and people starting posting about these pretty rocks and wanted to know more about them. So by wrapping our arms around a passion project it gave us a purpose and we were able to share love and joy in memory of Anna and Abby.

#3 - Google

We are all creatures of habit, but I especially stick to what I know. I order the same thing at the handful of restaurants we frequent, I wear my hair straight one day and curly the next repeatedly, and I have a close circle of friends and struggle to have conversations with new people. I like consistency, it’s comfortable. When our world turned upside down, our normal routines were shook up as well and in order to keep boredom and hysteria at bay, I had to step out of my comfort zone. In New York, we had our typical spots. We would venture behind our lake house at the farmer’s field to the mountain. We would walk up town to the waterwheel, the anchor, say “hi” to Jack the Boat Man, wander the local cemetery, play on the playground, and check on the beaver dam progress. We would roam the open spaces and wooded paths of Findley Lake’s Church Campground. We would also venture along the abandoned paths of Peek and Peak’s former Lower Course. Because we lived there for almost four months we needed to broaden our scope of adventures. Google is what helped widen our spectrum of sites and allowed us to be even more enrapt with our home away from home. When I googled “nature preserves and state parks near me” life changed for us! That is where we found Six Mile Creek, Long Point State Park, and Lucille Ball’s statue. It’s how we discovered Westfield, New York and the Barcelona Lighthouse, Presque Isle, and strawberry fields. I realized when we got home, that we needed to be more observant of the little hidden gems here as well. Thank you Google, because now we have Shale Hollow, Deer Haven, and Seymour Nature Preserve. Once we realized what being out in the open, drinking up the beauty and serenity of nature was the medicine we needed to sooth or hearts from the loss that the pandemic left in its wake, we just had to add more and more places to our list.

#4 - A first aid kit

Based on the first three essentials on my list you already know that going out and safely exploring our surroundings was a key component to our day. Each time we went somewhere new I became more and more prepared - a change of clothes, towels, water bottles, snacks, wipes…After the first few adventures on a trail I realized quickly that a first aid kit was going to be essential. We wouldn’t make it ten steps before someone tripped over a root or got a sliver in their finger. As the temperature rose, then on came bug bites and rashes from plants. I don’t know about your children, but mine think that a band-aid fixes everything! We had to start rationing bandaids and making it clear that unless there was blood, a band-aid really wasn’t necessary. While shopping I came across Welly First Aid Kits. There are a bunch of varieties and bright colors. I have one in my to-go bag, one in my car, and one in the house at all times. These first aid kits became essential with an active bunch and are now a key companion on our adventures.

#5 - The right mindset

I realize that a mindset is not a tangible thing, but it is essential to navigate the fear, loss, and unknowns of a global pandemic. One aspect that makes the right mindset is being calm. So much of that calm comes from a willingness to put things into perspective. It was easy to become frustrated and question the leaders of our country. It was easy to become overwhelmed with the immense amount of responsibility and lack of time to plan. But frustration and fear were not going to help, especially when I had five sets of eyes watching me for how to react. So I did my best to be calm, to be patient, to be flexible and understanding. I did my best to reassure myself and my children that we can navigate anything and that this was just a moment. While seeking calm, one way I found it was by focusing on the good. I made it my mission to capture the good in this moment. That’s why I have so many pictures, that’s why I’m walking away from this past year changed. Again it would have been easy to fall into despair, to give in to the depression, but my crew needed me. And so rather than fall into the hole and hide, I saw my children grow and we made lasting memories despite the cards we were dealt. The thread that ties all of my essential items together is an adventure and that is the third and final component to the right mindset: a sense of adventure. When the world shut down, we decided to keep living, just in a different way. We didn’t pause, we didn’t recoil and hide, we found the light and we are better for it.

When I asked my husband what he thought my top five pandemic essentials were, his first response was wine! Now to be completely honest, alcohol became my reward for making it through the day, but it was also a necessary evil. So when compiling this list I wanted to narrow down the five things that not only “got us through” a global pandemic, but that also made our lives richer and more fulfilling. Also these essentials are all things that I will hold on to even as we move out of the fog of this unprecedented time.