Been so long since I posted something. I seem to say that on every post. But, you know, life keeps you busy.
Lately it’s been a different kind of busy. The first few days of the stay-at-home order the kids didn’t have school and some of my demanding work assignments were halting as travel and restaurant visits were prohibited. I spent the week before doing a little panic buying. I wasn't hoarding toilet paper, but I was definitely stocking the pantry and fridge not knowing what was to come. I just wanted to be sure there was plenty of food on hand in case stores closed or we had a complete lockdown imposed. So I was a little anxious about having enough food and being out touching things others had touched, but once I was stocked and staying home, I was good.
I’ve settled back into a busy routine. Work that was lost has been replaced with COVID-19 coverage. Almost all my assignments have taken on a coronavirus twist. There’s a million different angles.
But those first few days of quarantine were sweet. There was, of course, concern for so many who were getting sick and losing loved ones. It was sad. I've been feeling such sympathy for those working on the front lines.
Here at home, though, it was kind of like going to that cocoon of having a newborn where you don’t leave the house for days and get used to life in pajamas or to the time when you get an unexpected snow day and you can take a big breath and for a day just let everything else go.
I’ve enjoyed my time at home being around the boys more. They’re growing up and it’s a rare day when they are all at home and no one goes anywhere. There really have only been a handful of those as hubby and my two oldest boys have continued working through it all.
But having everyone here at home more often than normal during the pandemic has been a silver lining to all this. Nights of doing puzzles or playing board games together. Not setting alarms or worrying about them sleeping late. Hearing their laughter as they play a video game together or share a funny YouTube video. Seeing them snuggle with the dogs or taking them for walk or to the lake. Sitting down for meals together. It has been the best kind of happy.
Things are moving along and at some point - although it still seems in the way-off future - it will be back to normal. Everyone going different directions, running kids to work and activities, no time to stop and eat lunch, seeing the kids up late stressing over homework, a full calendar. I can’t say I miss it all that much. I’m probably happiest on the snow days.
Speaking of happy, I started jotting down random things that make me happy and I’m just going to leave them here so that when I have a day I’m feeling overwhelmed or just down, I’ll can come back and be reminded of some of the little things that can cheer me up. I’ll continue to add to it.
Mariachi music
Superbowl half-time shows
Fresh tomatoes from the garden
Looking at doggies and puppies (but not petting them. They make me itchy.)
Sunflowers with bees buzzing around them
Surprises
Elotes
My mom’s chicken and dumplings
Penguins
Floral prints
When my dog hangs out next to me
The song “What a Wonderful World”
New fleece blankets
Freshly-painted fingernails
When a handsome elderly gentleman smiles and you can see in his eyes that he was a really handsome dude in his younger years
Sausage pizza with really thin crust and lots of cheese - but not so much that the crust gets soggy
Baseball
Spring flowers poking out of the ground
Bacon
Any movie with Chris Farley
Rainbows
Chocolate candy bars with caramel and nuts
Baby giggles
Oversized recliners or chairs with ottomans
Food events where I get to sample lots of stuff
Being in Chicago (but I hate getting there and parking there)
Music by George Straight
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Date night
Plopping down on a hotel bed with a big fluffy comforter and lots of pillows after a busy day of exploring a destination
Smelling a baby’s freshly-washed head after a lathering of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo
Old ladies who tell it how it is
A text from my Dad
Buying a dress for a baby girl
Being on an observation deck where I can for miles
Singing Go Cubs Go after a Cubs win
1980s movies by John Hughes
Bowling, even though I suck at it
The Office
Breakfast skillets
Seeing an American flag flapping in the wind
A long walk in the woods
The color blue
Country music
A road trip with a beautiful blue sky in front of me full of fluffy clouds
A southernly gentleman who says “yes, ma’am”
When someone compliments me on an article I’ve written
Pocky
Hearing my kids laugh
The Beatles
Elvis
Visiting a new place
Getting a letter from my aunt
The show Parenthood
When I get through all the unread emails in my inbox
A fresh tablecloth on the table before anyone gets crumbs on it
British accents, French accents, Australian accents - really almost any accent
Taking a ride in a small plane
When my husband drives when we go into the city and I get to sit back and relax
Being in the presence of a military veteran, especially those of the Greatest Generation
Being up early before anyone else in the house and hearing nothing
Looking out the window at falling snow (that I don’t have to drive in)
When hubby gets me flowers or picks them for me
Thin, fresh English toffee
Bath bombs
Tiramisu
The Blues Brothers
Watching a children’s choir sing
Parades
Chocolate covered peanuts or pecans
Peach Belinis
Spending time by the water - especially a large body of water where I can’t see what’s on the other side
Saturday Night Live Skits
A nice new shirt that is a pretty pastel color that doesn’t have stains on it yet
Sunshine
Sunshine coming out after a light rain and seeing drops on leaves brightened by the sun
Sitting at Wrigley Field on a warm (but not hot) spring or summer afternoon for a day game
Pork Schnitzel with lots of lemon squeezed on it
Live concerts
