I have a list of topics that came to my mind this past week. You are lucky that I won't expound on each and every one or we might be here for another week. My list includes: anxiety, fear, helping, music, gas prices, hair color, trash, feeling drained, new people and store hours. As you can tell my thought process is all over the place. We'll see what topics I touch on as I continue to write...LOL!
I will not talk politics (makes me too angry) except to say I believe Dr. Fauci is my hero. I love his honesty, straight talk and recommendations.
As we have all been faced with altering our way of life and slowing down a bit, I can't help but think there will be some positive outcomes/changes when this is over. We are so used to having so many conveniences - especially here in the USA - is it truly necessary to have so many stores open 24/7? When I grew up trash pick up was once a week (except for restaurants) for everything, now it's twice per week (for many) and a separate day for recycling and yard waste - suddenly it's back to one day a week for trash, no yard waste pick up and a day for recycling. Is that enough?
I have to admit I so love having less traffic as I travel back/forth for work. I am glad to see road construction/repair still ongoing. I am hoping they can finish up these major projects early and be less disruptive as life returns to normal. I am also loving these cheaper gas prices.
I am so glad I let my hair go pure white all those years ago; so I have no worries about my roots showing and color fading. Will we see more "naturals" in the future? As we watch color and styles change over the next few weeks I see more caps/hats coming out. I will definitely need a haircut when this is over, but won't worry about it for now.
Many people are experiencing heightened anxiety/fear and I can definitely understand. We are bombarded with news and statistics and we do not always have a good support system. I have found listening to the news once in the morning/once at night helpful. Guided meditation is a useful tool. I have also found a couple of great FB pages with good news stories and/or art/photography absolutely wonderful tools for relaxing my inner angst. Music, of course, is soothing to my soul. One of my clients played the slide trombone for many years (he was in his high school and the Air Force marching band). I have started playing marching band music and he gets a huge kick out of it. I have learned quite a few college football fight songs along the way. He taps his feet to the beat and laughs at my march around the room (mini exercise for me). He still has his instrument and I'm trying to convince him to play it again or perhaps give me lessons as a way to keep him motivated.
I am glad I don't have to home school children and create a routine for others to abide to but myself. Besides the fact that I'm sure I don't know half of what they are teaching these days, not sure I have the fortitude to handle the discipline. I mean, I can't get myself into an exercise routine at home never mind if I needed to teach others. I'm sure many will be happy when school starts again in person. Teachers and students will have a different perspective.
I finished reading: "THE LAST HOUSE GUEST" by Megan Miranda. Murder mystery set in Maine with plenty of turns along the way. I hope this isolation time has given you a chance to pare down your reading pile. I still have a few left.
The daily and wacky holidays for the week...provides something lighthearted to think about:
April 5
Deep Dish Pizza Day
Palm Sunday - date varies
Go for Broke Day
National Dandelion Day
Read a Road Map Day
April 6
California Poppy Day
National Tartan Day
New Beer's Eve
Plan Your Epitaph Day - a little morbid if you ask me
Sorry Charlie Day
Teflon Day
April 7
Caramel Popcorn Day - Most likely created by a popcorn maker, or an Ecard company.
International Beaver Day
National Beer Day
No Housework Day
World Health Day
April 8
All is Ours Day
Draw a Picture of a Bird Day
Passover begins at sundown - date varies
Zoo Lover's Day
April 9
Name Yourself Day
Winston Churchill Day
April 10
Golfer's Day
Good Friday - date varies
National Siblings Day
Safety Pin Day
April 11
Eight Track Tape Day - do you remember those?
Barbershop Quartet Day
National Submarine Day
I am going to leave it here for today. I think I covered enough topics for one day. If you need an ear or shoulder you know where/how to find me. Please stay safe and take care of yourself. Chat soon. Marie
“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.” – Elie Weisel
"The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them." - Unknown