Remember the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic?
What I remember most is my very strong urge to make things. I know everyone started making bread early on (or at least buying all the ingredients for it). I made a little, but didn't trust myself to keep stacks of fresh-baked carbs around the kitchen in endless supply.
I also sewed masks like the war effort depended on it. I have enough masks to go out three times a day for a couple of weeks with a fresh face-covering each outing. Of course, we can't actually go out for much. Maybe I can wear a new mask for each aisle of the grocery store?
This Conversation piece from our spring archives told me I was not alone in gravitating toward my old home economics lessons. (Yeah, we covered that in homeschool too).
Maybe there was some psychological need to "prepare" or "control," or maybe the mandatory staying home helped me and others spend a little more time on things they've always wanted to do.
In May, we wrote about local John Vopni spending more time at home and using that luxury to photograph the birds that visit his backyard. The extra time he found for one of his passions even turned into a regular "backyard birding" feature on CollingwoodToday for a while.
According to a paper written by the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, there's healing and relief in meaningful activities done during stressful times.
So I'd like to know if you've adopted any pandemic hobbies or activities. Maybe you started something new or picked up something old. Tell me about it in the comments or respond to our poll.
