By Alexandra Antipa, 35
It’s February, the 14th.
Valentine’s Day.
And even though it’s corny, we celebrate it. My husband knows what I want.
A book. Or several.
It’s that simple.
We take our three-year-old daughter to kindergarten and then get in our car. A short drive to Düsseldorf and we are there. My favorite bookstore in the world, perhaps only surpassed by an amazing one I saw in Prague.
There are four stories to explore, with endless rows of books. I spend most of my time in the English Books section, as this is the language in which I prefer to read. My husband looks around. He is kindest.
I know spending hours in a bookstore is not certainly his thing, but he never says no. He tries, always.
Around New Year’s Eve, we heard about a new virus that had affected a region in China. I wasn't interested, however, my husband could already foresee the future. What if the virus reaches Europe? It won’t, I tell him.
But, no matter how hard I try to reassure, he stays concerned.
Fast forwarded back to that February day.
Someone sneezes in the bookstore, close to where we are. My husband urges us to leave. The person who has sneezed is Asian. I laugh and say there is no need to get paranoid. There are no reports of the virus in Germany. But I see it in his eyes. The feeling of doubt which will follow us in the months to come. It will change our lives in ways we could have never imagined.
It’s August now, and I haven’t visited the bookstore since that day. A few days later, there was a festival, and they had reported the first cases. It went all downhill from there.
We are lucky to live in a country such as Germany, where they kept the spread of the virus under control. They did not prevent us from going out but offered clear guidelines on how things would be from thereon.
No large gatherings allowed.
Social distancing.
Mandatory mask-wearing.
Adequate hygiene measures.
Caution.
Almost everyone respected these measures.
How did our lives change? In many ways. We reduced our outings. Avoided areas with high traffic. Shopped online more. Only one of us went to the store. Our daughter stopped going to kindergarten. We became more protective of ourselves. Ate healthier meals. Sought a connection to nature.
In all these months, I also noticed that we stopped running after those perfect moments. Instead, we got closer.
We found gratitude in just being together as a family.
For me, these months have been immensely creative. I found the peace I needed to write, and my inspiration took me to unbelievable places.
Three books emerged from this period.
Two are for children, with my daughter and nephew serving as inspiration.
The third is about motherhood and how it turned me into a better person.
It was a tough time for my husband. He continued to go to work, and he often felt anxious. It scared him to think he would become infected, and our health would suffer. We are lucky. That did not happen.
And I cannot imagine the pressure experienced by those who work on the frontline. They too have families worrying about them.
Especially children.
I was already on the path of slowing down. My purpose was to enjoy the present, and no longer think about the past or worry about the future. The corona pandemic helped me re-arrange my priorities and focus on what matters.
Being in the now. Because this is all we have.
We cannot say what will happen. They might find a vaccine or not. Propose other treatment solutions. Enforce lockdown measures. Neither of these things is in our control.
Our only power is to reflect on our own behavior.
Are we doing what it takes to stay safe?
Perhaps now is the time to think more about our choices.
To stop chasing after what we believe will make us happy.
To plan less for the future and live more in the present.
We saw this period as an opportunity. An opportunity to be together as a family. And my biggest realization was that love triumphs over doubt, fear, or anxiety. It helps you stay strong and make better choices.
When faced with a situation like the current one, we should think less about the things we want and practice gratitude for the ones we already have.
We will then realize how rich we truly are.
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