How have I adapted to Covid?

Honestly… not gracefully at first.

It started with a quiet “what?”
Then quickly turned into full-body panic.
The kind where you genuinely believe… this might be it. We’re all going to die.

And then—
we didn’t.

There was this strange exhale. A soft, confused relief.

But life didn’t just go back.

I had to stop working. Everything paused.
And in that pause… something uncomfortable but honest crept in:

What am I actually doing with my life?

Not the polite version of the question.
The real one.

So we did something that, from the outside, probably looked a little unhinged.

We sold the house we had built over 8 years.
Packed up life with four kids.
And left.

No grand master plan.
Just a quiet pull that felt more true than staying.

That turned into 2 ½ years of travelling, moving countries, and slowly… building a completely different life.

Not because we had it all figured out.
But because something in me stopped wanting to live halfway.

If I’m really honest, Covid didn’t just “change things” for me.

It stripped things.

The noise. The timelines. The “shoulds.”
All those loud outside voices suddenly felt… less convincing.

What stayed was simpler. And a bit braver.

Following my heart (even when it makes zero logical sense).
Trusting my own rhythm more than the daily headlines.
Being a little more radically honest about what feels right… and what doesn’t.

Not perfect. Not always pretty.

But real.

And I think that’s the biggest shift of all.

Love, Stefanie Anna