As many of you know, prior to the pandemic, I habitually attended Weight Watcher (“WW”) Workshops on Saturday mornings. I had attended the meetings for years and, for me, it was integral part of my life’s journey. Given the context of the meetings and, what we each shared, I felt particularly close to my fellow attendees and coach.

Obviously, the pandemic changed all of that. Within two weeks of NY State’s shutdown, I received an email from WW advising that the meetings would begin again as Zoom meetings. I initially refused to attend the Zoom meetings, feeling that it could not replace what I had found in the in-person meetings. I was resolved to only attend in-person meetings as soon that that option became available again.

By the end of April, I was struggling a bit in my weight loss journey. With absolutely no expectations, I logged into my group’s WW Zoom meeting. As soon as I logged in, I was enthusiastically and warmly greeted by my friends and coach. While I felt a bit awkward initially, I quickly became engaged in the meeting.

Since that time, I have eagerly attended and actively participated my WW Zoom meetings every week. There have been other changes, i.e. another group has virtually merged with ours. And, while WW has reopened limited in person workshops, I have opted to remain virtual, electing to stay online with my friends and coach. Even though we are physically apart we remain emotionally close and concerned about one another's journeys.

The pandemic has forced me to change a routine I have followed for years. And I have very unexpectedly come to embrace the change. How about you?