Well, by now I’ve been practicing social distancing for over a month and time seems like a made up construct. Anyone else? It feels like I’m keeping track of what day it is based off of when my Spotify Discover Weekly comes out (that’s Monday), or when the garbage gets picked up (Wednesday). Weird times. And still, so much is uncertain! I think it’s easy for me to focus on everything that’s unknown, which only serves to build up anxiety. Now, I don’t want to have toxic positivity and ignore the reality of the situation. Not at all. But… I do want to try and focus more on gratitude and tiny wins, because let’s be honest, some days (most days right now) even tiny wins are huge wins. It’s a shifting of perspective. I want to choose to see what usually might be taken for granted as something to celebrate. Tiny wins for April – something good to focus on these days.
Photos in Print
I’ve been working on this one for a while. Putting all of my Pacific Crest Trail blog posts and the accompanying pictures into one printed piece. It took ~a while~ but receiving it in the mail last week was so much fun. Seeing photos in print is fun no matter what, but I’m finding it especially enjoyable to flip through my PCT pictures as I spend all of this time inside during this (insert “un” buzzword of choice: uncertain/unprecedented/unparalleled) time.
Connecting With Friends
I’ll say it – I’m a little embarrassed that it took a pandemic for some of these phone calls or video chats to happen. BUT in my defense (and maybe yours too), the fact is that everyone’s schedules are finally clear (for the most part) which makes reconnecting with people consistently over Zoom or FaceTime so much easier. I’m counting family game nights and weekly video chats with friends a win, for sure.
The Weather
A list of tiny wins for April would not be complete without a mention of the sunshine. As I write this, it has returned to rain, but the past few weeks have been so gloriously nice in the Pacific Northwest that it’s made everything feel slightly better and less insane.
Getting outside
I’m thankful to live in a place that makes getting out consistently on walks of some sort or another quite easy (and safe). It’s actually more of a huge win than a tiny win, but either way, a win. Fresh air and a chance to move my body outside has been incredibly helpful for me – physically and mentally. I’ve also appreciated using an evening walk outside as the sort of end marker to my work day. I’m trying hard to keep some semblance of separation between work time and non-work time!
D-O-G
I mean, do I need to list the ways? Something about having a pet at home has been a nice comfort these days. My dog is a little needy as far as coworkers go (ha) but as I lay on the floor at the end of a work day last week (classic right) petting her, I was reminded that I am lucky to have a doggo at home.
Any tiny wins for you lately?