Thursday already? This week is flying by. So far this morning has been quiet and peaceful, just me and my teacup and my computer. The novelty of me working from home wore off for my cat last week some time, and he no longer supervises me, although he still partakes in his daily stroll across the keyboard for old times’ sake.
This week launched with hassle after hassle, from issues with the server at the office, which we rely on to work from home, to our dinosaur of a home computer protesting about suddenly being used all day long. I did some clean-up, some scanning, some sweet-talking, and it’s decided to behave again. For now.
It started to get to me. I was annoyed, stressed out, and I let it start compounding, rolling like a snowball, picking up the aggravation and uncertainty of the lockdowns and the virus and everything being closed and the nasty, negative, petty headlines when people should be focused on just doing what is right and helping each other.
My husband reminded me that I had just said, maybe a week before, that things will get worse before they get better, and the only parts we have any direct control over are how we react and how we treat each other. So I took a deep breath and took my own wise, practical, and always-correct advice. (See how I slipped in some self-congratulatory praise there?)
Now, I read just enough news to stay informed of anything major happening in the world I need to know about, like zombie outbreaks or an asteroid hurtling a million miles an hour toward my house. I focus on my new workout routine, on my health, my family’s health. I refuse to become a cranky, hissing, spitting curmudgeon and just make everything worse.
I saw a quote recently that I wish I had saved, because now I can’t find it. But it was basically that people are griping and complaining about social distancing and stay-at-home orders, whining about being bored, pining for things to go back to the way they used to be, when maybe instead, people should see this as an opportunity to slow down, to assess their lives, to take a good look around and see what could change, what could be better. Why wish for what used to be when some editing may be required?
The next month, two months, or however long this goes on is going to pass us by, whether we are under stay-at-home orders or not. What are you doing now to make sure that a better version of you emerges on the other side?
Sweat & Sparkle 