In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a lot of heavy stuff going on in the world right now. Between the pandemic, civil rights violations, and trying to decide what my daughter’s first year of school will look like, I find myself easily overwhelmed and anxious about the smallest decisions. I know I’m not alone, and that helps. But there are plenty of other things helping me get through the tough days right now. Here are just a few.
The Hamilton Soundtrack
I’ve never seen Hamilton live and only saw it for the first time when it launched on Disney+, but I am loving listening to the soundtrack when driving, running, or even just working. I have also developed a crush on Leslie Odom Jr. and introduced my daughter to another version of Kristoff from Frozen (aka Jonathan Groff aka King George III).
Dance Parties
One of my kids’ favorite things to do right now is turn on the Moana or Frozen 2 soundtrack on the Bluetooth speaker and dance around the room. This is actually something that’s happening in the background while I type.
Working Out
In the midst of everything, I developed an injury that meant I had to take some time off from running after relying on it to save my sanity since March. That was pretty hard and I had some time to rest and wallow in self-pity, but then I found a non-running workout challenge on YouTube that gave me a new reason to get up early to exercise. Whether running, cycling, walking, or working out some other way, exercise is always a sure way to turn my mood around.
Reading
I always have a book on-the-go, but lately, I’ve been unable to read anything too deep. I have done plenty of reading about racism and the broken justice system in our country, which is certainly important, but when I turn in for the night, I crack open my well-worn copies of the Harry Potter series. Yes, it’s probably the 10th time (at least) I have read them, but they are easy to read and I know what’s coming, which is what I need right now.
Memes
I’m pretty sure memes are getting a lot of people through right now. It helps me to find humor in this strange and stressful situation we are in, rather than focusing on the news or whatever Mike DeWine is going to announce next.
Making Masks
Pretty early on in the pandemic, I noticed that a lot of my seamstress friends were making masks to donate to local organizations. I decided to dust off my sewing machine and join the party, and it ended up being a good thing I did because I now have a plentiful supply for me and my family, and I have also been able to supply masks to some of my friends. I definitely haven’t been as productive as many of my friends have, but I have enjoyed feeling like I am taking action and giving back to help people resume some of their normal activities safely. Plus, I get to pick out all kinds of fun fabrics (my favorites include shiny multicolored stars, rainbow stripe, and unicorn print).
What are you doing to help you get through 2020?
