Finally Getting Back to In-Person

It’s been a long time coming, but as travel opens up a bit more (barring any flight cancellations, of course!) so do opportunities to gather in-person. 

The last nearly two years have been a challenge for many, myself included. Conferences and connections were still happening on Zoom, but nothing beats face-to-face and real-life conversations.

I attended the recent Beachbody leadership retreat and it was so exciting to get outside my normal bubble of people. It was here in Arizona, so I was lucky to not have to travel and still see some of my favorite people in person.

I appreciated that Beachbody didn’t pack the weekend full of nonstop activities, but rather let us ease back into in-person events. There was plenty of white space for us to connect with others in our own way.

Connection has been a challenge for so many of us. I used to think that I needed a lot more connection, but the pandemic has shown me that I like deeper connections with a smaller circle of people. I still love the bigger events, but I found myself craving downtime at the end of the day.

We all need community and connection, no matter if we’re introverts or extroverts. I recently listened to a podcast where they shared that contrary to popular belief, introverts struggled with the isolation of the pandemic. Recharging by yourself is one thing, but total isolation is something else entirely. 

Aside from the retreat, it’s been fun to get back to more school and sports activities. With Charlie in his senior year at Brophy (how did it happen so fast!?), we’re getting to connect with the parents there more. Brophy has fun ways to involve parents and we’ve really missed out on that over the last 18 months.

We’re getting to spend more time watching the kids’ sports and we’re excited about the upcoming seasons. No more having to drop the kids and go or take turns being spectators. 

A while back, I talked about how I talked the ear off a poor parent of one of Jack’s friends when I dropped off something at their house. She must have thought I had lost it! It was a lack of connection that I was feeling, and being face-to-face with someone, even with a mask on, felt really good.

Let’s hope there continues to be more of that and everyone stays safe and healthy as we move into the winter months!