It’s strange that the end of the year is approaching but I feel less harried and stressed than I usually would. In a typical year, there are holiday parties to get to and/or to host. Gifts to procure (though we’ve been tapering off on that for a while now), family and friends to visit. It is still an extraordinarily busy time of year at work, for both my day job and part-time teaching gig. But I only have two more classes to teach and then I have a break until the new year. I don’t miss the hectic commuting or figuring out how and when to squeeze in some meals throughout the day. Honestly, life is much less complicated for us now and I am embracing that. More good things for the gratitude list:
- Vaccines are on the way for COVID-19 (and already being rolled out in the UK) and the science is improving daily. We know so much more now than we did in the early days. This Science VS mini-episode is worth a listen: “Tons of new science means fresh answers on a few things that really freaked us out at the start of the pandemic: coronavirus on surfaces; ibuprofen and Covid-19; and getting Covid twice.”
- Grapefruit spoons have been a game-changer.
- Recently I got a bit busy and sad and skipped my daily walks two days in a row. Remedied that today and confirmed that yes, going for solo walks greatly improves my mental and physical well-being!
- I’ve been enjoying winter fruits that begin with the letter P — pomegranate and persimmons — and look forward to pomelo season.
- As we are here all the time now, everything in our home is suffering from greater wear and tear, including my house slippers. So I ponied up for some Glerups. I’m glad I did. They are comfortable and known for their excellent, ethical business practices.
- Also in the realm of comfort, I found soft underthings I like and gave myself permission to replace all the old stuff I had that was uncomfortable. And realized my son was probably overdue. He doesn’t think to ask for such things but admitted his boxers were falling apart. Doh. Ordered him many new pairs, along with lounge pants. We should be set for some time now.
Lastly, I’m grateful that my son and I adapted to this new normal so easily. I saw this NY Times piece.
Pandemic-Proof Your Habits — Too many people are still longing for their old routines. Get some new ones instead.
That hasn’t been an issue here. We are creatures of habit but we quickly pivoted and established new routines that would serve us well. My son is thriving. He was Homecoming King his senior year of high school (I was chuffed) and now he’s going to be President of his college’s anime club! They’ve been meeting online. Some of those friendships were still fairly new before the pandemic began and I worried they would fizzle out but he has done the work to maintain them and I am so proud and relieved.
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