2020 has been a pretty tough year so far. My household is on Day 87 of sheltering-in-place, though we have made the occasional trip out for necessaries we couldn’t get delivered. And we got to stare at different walls for a few days when we went to my sister’s last week. It hasn’t been easy. I like to travel and we’ve now cancelled our 4th and final trip for 2020.
But that’s peanuts compared to what others are struggling with. With the world in crisis, it can be hard to find joy in life, and that’s the focus of my blog today.
Finding the joy.
To that end, here are some of the joyful things in my life. I hope some of them give you ideas that make you smile.
- Getting along with my husband for this long. Who’da thought? 🙂 Actually, he’s been my rock through all this turmoil and I love him for that. And his hair is getting LONG. I’ve always liked men with longer hair, so I’m a happy camper. Him, not so much. Lol.
- Video chats with my family and friends and grandkids. THIS has been the godsend of my at-home time and keeps me from going completely crazy. I miss hugging them, but this is the next best thing.
- Sitting outside and reading. Or puttering in the garden. Or, well, staring at the sky, the stars, the neighbors walking.
- My journal. Putting words to my fears helps me let them go, at least for a little while. I’m not sure I’ll ever go back and read my 2020 journal, but I think it helps me process.
- Practicing kindness. Recently, a family who lives in our neighborhood put a high school grad sign in their front yard. We don’t know them, but I made a congratulations card and dropped it in their mailbox. Just a card with some words. The thank you card we got back floored me. This small act had given their family so much joy, that a stranger would pay homage to an important event in their lives.
- Walking around the neighborhood. Seeing the new growth on the evergreens, the rhododendrons blooming, and all the projects people are working on.
- Digitizing old VHS tapes – a wonderful walk down memory lane.
- Getting my deck chairs recovered. Okay, still waiting on this one. They are with a seamstress and I can hardly wait! (They are about 20 years old, so WAYYYY overdue for a spruce up.
A couple online or television joys (at least, for me):
- For anyone who’s a fan of the Lord of the Rings movies: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-lord-of-the-rings-reunion-was-a-delight-heres-/1100-6477912/ This is a cast zoom reunion and I laughed and cried my way through it. Well worth the 50 minutes.
- Anything Jeff Dunham. https://www.jeffdunham.com/ Irreverent, but hilarious.
- The Great British Baking Show. https://www.pbs.org/food/shows/great-british-baking-show/
Not sure why this has such a calming effect on me because those bakers get pretty frantic. But I’ve come to love watching this show.
I’ve been watching this video lately. I think it’s message is still important:
Gosh, I’m sure there’s more, but these are just a few of my favorite things. I don’t really have any pictures to share this month. Most of mine have been of flowers.
Stay safe.
Stay healthy.
Stay calm.
This, too, shall pass. Hopefully, with better communication between all of us and with a kinder world to live in.
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“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens”
Yes! “Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.” I love that song and was singing it (badly) as I wrote this blog. I love it! And thanks for stopping by to comment.
Reblogged this on Laurie Ryan's blog and commented:
A few of my favorite things…
A really wonderful blog to start today with. I love the medley video. I’m going to share it on Facebook for others to see.
Thank you Laurie
Thank you! I had been kind of down with everything going on and needed to get back to the blessings in my life. 🙂
Lovely post, Laurie. I always loved the movie White Christmas and especially the song Bing Crosby’s character sings about Counting Your Blessings. It seems very valid for the current times.
That’s a great song. Might have to pull that movie out and watch it in June now that it’s in my head. 🙂
Lovely post. Finding joy in small things is wonderful. You’re optimism is catching. AND I love that you gave your neighbor grad a card. That’s so awesome. Journaling seems to help me, too. I guess getting it down, gets it out of our heads. Keep finding the joy! Jillian
Journaling does that, helps us let things go. At least, I think it does. Sending abounding joy right back to you. Hope you’re not getting too much rain!
Brilliant post, Laurie. Despite the awfulness around us, lockdown has made many of us stop and find joy again in the simple things. Although life for us hasn’t changed much since he’s retired, we are enjoying reruns of all the Hill Street Blues series on TV. Forgot how good that program was. And what a lovely thoughtful deed in sending that grad card. Simple pleasures reaping happiness all round. Love it! 🙂
We really have been able to stop and smell the roses, haven’t we? That would be my wish for the world right now. To use this time to reflect, renew, regenerate. Hill Street Blues is a great series!