How are others shifting gears and also engaging in new, meaningful activities?
Trudie, sorry your initial question has been completely lost in this thread. It's a good question and I wish more people would answer it!
I did miss this, and I'm sorry!
We've lived in our neighborhood for 20+ years, and we've walked several times a week for all those years, and yet we always headed off our block to walk. Now we make a point to go around our block at least daily, to walk on both sides of the street, and most of all, to smile, make eye contact, and say hello to our neighbors. Recently I noticed one neighbor has a gorgeous yard I've never gotten close enough to truly appreciate!
We're spending more time sitting on our front porch so we can say hello to neighbors walking by.
I switched our main meal from lunch time to dinner time, in order to create a family meal every evening, something we used to do before the boys graduate from high school. Once the boys started college we rarely had both of them home for the same meal. They're busy with online classes at lunch time, but are available for an early dinner (5:30). It's a chance to reconnect even though we've been in the same house all day.
We're reclaiming Sundays as a day of rest. Being home all of the time, the days can merge into each other and it's easy to work on projects all weekend (cleaning out garage, weeding, etc.). Without the framework of our religious services, Sundays started to feel like Saturday (I'm not loving watching live streams -- the technology feels like a barrier and I miss our singing and praying in unison). I felt we all needed a day without work, a day we could connect with God and each other, and to rest.
I'm talking to my dad each week, and rather than feeling rushed, I'm enjoying it even if the conversation rambles. For once, I'm not rushing around talking to him while I need to be doing other things, or needing to go after a few minutes because we need to leave to get somewhere. Likewise, he has more time to talk to me on Sunday evenings (he used to have standing plans each Sunday late afternoon into evening). It won't last forever, but it's nice now.