On the upside, the pandemic gave us free time.
And most of us wasted no time filling it up.
Those who found more than Netflix to fill the void may have actually benefitted from venturing out of their workaday rut.
Baking, gardening and walking were among the popular pastimes during the shutdown. So were reading, working out, and exercising your brain with puzzles and games.
But some people delved further into the world of possibilities, filling the space left by canceled commutes, reduced work hours and postponed gatherings with activities they could only dream about when their lifestyle was on high speed.
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My husband was among them.
For the first time in a long time, Jim had time on his hands.
Within a week, he was bored.
Within a month, the Vickroy backyard express was born.
There’s a corner of our yard that backs up to a somewhat busy walkway. It is flanked by tall fir trees with branches cut to near canopy level. A picket fence runs the perimeter of the yard.
I’d always looked upon the space as an otherwise unremarkable triangle but Jim, the son of a railroad engineer, saw it as the perfect spot for a railroad garden.
He measured, set down bricks, laid tracks, finagled extension cords and, finally, after weeks of construction, introduced a steady stream of pandemic walkers to his miniature train that ran in a simple loop around butterfly bushes and pots of annuals.
Then he got to work adding cars — a ghost one for Halloween, a Christmas one for December — and beautifying the landscape. Today, there’s a double set of tracks and a lighted holiday train that runs in one direction, while another set of cars heads in the other.
He’s pondering how to craft a tunnel and further spruce up the scene.
The grandchildren love it. The passersby are intrigued enough to chat over the fence for a time. And some of the neighbors have suggested he expand the line to deliver baked goods through the subdivision.
The pandemic robbed us of a lot. But it also made some of us more resourceful, more creative and more inclined to say there’s no time like now to pursue those long-ignored passions.
And experts say there are plenty of reasons to keep those pandemic-inspired hobbies.
Dr. Ken Gray, professor of psychology at College of DuPage, said, “There are many studies that found that hobbies are good for mental health. One study followed nearly 9,000 participants over time and found a clear association between having a hobby and reduced depressive symptoms.”
A good hobby at any age, Gray said, is one that requires mental stimulation, physical activity and social interaction. So, no, Hulu doesn’t count.
There is a great deal of research that shows exercise leads to substantial improvements in physical and mental health, he said. It is also one of the most effective ways to avoid the dreaded cognitive decline we fear as we age, he said.
“If you can also make it social, by exercising with friends or family, it becomes even better,” he said.
Many physical activities can be mentally stimulating as well, he said. For example, golf, basketball, tennis, running and even rock climbing can include elements of strategy and planning that provide significant mental stimulation, he said.
Gray fills his free time with word puzzles and obstacle-course training that gets his whole family crawling through mud under barbed wire, climbing up ropes and flipping heavy tires.
How to find your thing? Begin by turning off the TV, which is not very physically or mentally stimulating, Gray said. Then go back in time.
Think about the interests you had as a kid, or the activities you gave up because your career or family, he said. And don’t let age get in the way.
“I know people in their 70s who started CrossFit and people who learned computer programming in their 80s. Just this morning, I read an article about a woman in India who learned to read at 104,” he said.
“Being busy is part of human nature. And in fact, some of our best experiences happen when we are so deeply engaged in an activity that we lose track of time. Some call it ‘being in the zone’ or ‘flow experiences,'” Gray said.
There’s a difference between getting lost in a hobby and being overwhelmed by work.
“This is one of the core reasons hobbies are so valuable. We get a chance to indulge our desire to do something, to bury ourselves in a chosen activity without the continuous pressure to produce more,” he said.
Michael McGreal, culinary arts department chair at Joliet Junior College, said baking and cooking became so popular during the pandemic because they reap other benefits as well.
“Food brings us together, creates a sense of accomplishment and gratification and also is associated with many memories of our lives,” he said.
When families couldn’t go to soccer games and recitals, they could gather and connect in the kitchen, all the while turning out delicious things to eat.
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“Cooking and baking are very meditative and can give people that sense of ‘zen,'” McGreal said.
“There is also something very meditative about the whole creation process of making a recipe, kneading and shaping dough, and simply giving life to the stagnant flour once activated yeast or a starter has been added,” he said.
It’s similar to growing a garden, except baking’s reward comes much faster, McGreal said.
“COVID hasn’t been a recipe for happiness,” he said, “but it sure gave us the opportunity to forge many happy memories through the time we spent creating recipes, preparing tasty dishes, and tweaking our baking recipes.”
Keith Lipske, owner of Timberline Train Shop in Downers Grove, said the small spike in interest in model trains during the pandemic has leveled off now that people are back enjoying the outside world again.
“But there is still plenty of interest,” he said. That’s a good thing, he said, because model training sharpens carpentry, electrical and plastic kit construction skills.
Like all good hobbies, he said, it “keeps your mind occupied and keeps you moving.”
As a bonus, I might add in this season of giving, is the way a person’s hobby translates into gift ideas.
Among the items on my shopping list: a child’s apron, a new pair of walking shoes and a gift card for Train World.
Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years.