Bismillah,
To say that 2020 is weird is an understatement itself. And I think I share the same sentiments like everyone else on this planet haha. To think that we marched into 2020 feeling worried albeit hopeful — just to be crushed down to the ground back in March. I still remember I felt like January and February went so slow and painful, and then bam — March came into full force. And the whole world stood still. Until now.
Despite of that, I am feeling thankful. So many things that I would have never thought I would be able to do if it’s not because of this coronavirus. I learnt how to adapt, how to manage, how to navigate — more so than ever. There’s always a silver lining everywhere we go and in whatever situation we are. You just need to look for it.
2020 has been a very strange ride until now. But I foresee nothing extravagant happening for the next two weeks hence I chose to write this now.
So what are the silver linings?
Remote work is fun
I was so used with the concept of working in a physical office until early this year when we were being told to work from home until further notice. Which we all know — extends to God knows until when. At first it was challenging and tiring. Especially when the kids were still at home for the first 5 weeks. But when they were back in school and childcare, I finally got the rhythm going on for my work schedule.
I must say, it’s so comfy to work in my pyjama, no need to wear a hijab and worrying how to take wudhu in a sink. But the best part is, I can make use of my down times to take care of house chores. I can cook for my family or just simply unload my washing machine. It works so well. Picking up the kids is also much simpler. I am seriously considering for a remote friendly job in the future if I ever moved company.
Planner is love
View this post on Instagram
I love journaling and writing diary ever since I was a kid. Being a mom kinda took that to the back seat so I am pretty happy that as we are staying at home, I have more time to explore this hobby. I write everything — and I meant everything on my journal to let everything go on the paper. And then move on. It has been great and pretty therapeutic.
Up-leveling my cooking skill
I have been cooking for my family ever since we moved to Berlin, but nothing really pushed me to explore more recipes than this lockdown. I thought since I have more time and energy now, why not making it to the best? I baked bread, cookies, and found out that most of them were not bad! I even managed to bake all time Eid favorite — nastar. Also cooked some rendang, made soto mie, risoles, and all of those Indonesian foods that I was craving so much.
In short, I found joy in cooking. And so did my family.
Z’s first Ramadhan
This year due to the schools closing, we managed to fast with Z for the first time. He was so excited when it’s Ramadhan and I am so proud because he was able to fast for one month. 18 hours a day for a 6 year old was not an easy feat so we were pretty proud. Allah is Great, if it’s not because of the school’s closing, it would be really hard for Z to have his first Ramadhan. Insya Allah, his next Ramadhan will be much easier after this first taste. Bismillah
Reading is back
My initial target for 2020 was 30 books. But by June, I was only 5-6 books into my target and it was seriously that bad that I almost cried. My first love was reading. And I don’t know what could have had happened to me if it wasn’t because of reading. It’s like I was so detached from reading that picking up a book feels like a chore. It was a horrible feeling.
Finally I picked up the groove back in July. It was so helpful that I also found Higashino Keigo books along the way. His mystery books are so good that I finished four of them in the span of 6 weeks.
Now I am still only 15 books out of 30 — but that’s okay. I can come back and pick it up. The most important thing is I managed to get out of that slump.
Here’s my 2020 in books if you are interested: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2020
Attending 嵐 (online) concert
This might sound shallow to anyone else — but ever since they announced their hiatus plan back in early 2019, I was sort of hoping that I can attend one of their concerts. Being so far away from Japan kinda made me losing hope gradually. But when corona forced everything to be online, including (and especially) a big gathering, they decided to hold an online concert last November to commemorate their 21st anniversary.
Empty stadium made everything looks sad but it was such a blessing in disguise for an international fan like me. It was such a blast and even though it’s pre-recorded, everything went smooth.
***
What blessings you found this year?
