A continuation of good days and bad days over here, entirely predictable if not always preventable. The good days are when I make a plan and stick to it, the bad days are when I don't, and instead slide into a bit of bleakness about our altered lives. What is frustrating about the later is that it is entirely within my control to avoid feeling bleak simply by making different choices each day. So today I resolve to do better!
Things I am grateful for today:
- Our family is all healthy, and relatively unaffected by the economic shutdown. Our youngest daughter is a still-employed teacher now working remotely, and her husband is a naval officer currently at sea. My oldest daughter works in the legal arena of managed healthcare, and they are actually gearing up for an explosion of membership due to a projected swelling of California's medicaid population.
- Our personal finances remain relatively unaffected by the pandemic, plus we have several long awaited monthly revenue streams finally coming on line in June - Medicare for my husband, plus two modest pensions.
- We have ample amounts of food, remotely-connected friends, and places to hike/walk.
- Grocery stores are now calm again, so I've been able to return to normal meal planning.
- Because of above, the possibility of a temporary shortage of pork and/or poultry is not a concern. Our meals tend to be vegetarian focused, and when I do use pork or poultry it is sparingly, so the frozen meat I have in my freezer currently will last us for months.
- The weather has been glorious - mid to high 70's - so we are able to be outside for much of the day, generally sitting in lounge chairs in the back corner of our yard where we can pick up the ocean breezes, plus see it in the distance.
- The beaches here in our corner of Orange County remain open, though we've been avoiding them on the more-crowded weekends. So, if our city/county/state* does end up deciding to close any or all of them during the weekend as is currently being discussed, we shouldn't be affected. (*Each of our three closest beaches is controlled by a different entity, which can get confusing!)
No crowds here during the week, thankfully.
Today's Well Being Plan:
- A morning trip to the market to purchase dried garbanzo beans, the only beans still missing in my pantry stash (I have ample amounts of dried pinto, white, kidney, and black beans currently, all of which should last me for months and months).
- Six mile walk, including a long stretch along the beach.
- Bake a batch of Lemon Squares to deliver as a 'thank you' to a neighbor that dropped off a bag of Meyer lemons.
- Practice piano for an hour.
- Sweep the upstairs floors (the dust never ends around here!).
- Meditate out on our upstairs balcony, likely enjoying the sound of birds and possibly the surf, depending. (Due to the absence of vehicle traffic currently, I can often times hear the soft sound of the surf crashing at high tide).
- Drink tea and read for a bit this afternoon on our outdoor lounge chairs.
- Each tonight's dinner outside - roast chicken, baked sweet potato and roasted broccoli. I picked up the chicken last week for 98 cents a pound, and I'm guessing it will end up being used in at least five meals - tonight's roast, plus a future batch of chicken salad with the leftover dark meat, and a future pan of chicken enchiladas with the leftover white meat.
- Play Monopoly with my husband after dinner.
How about you? How are you doing and/or coping currently?
Tamara, my mood seems to have a rise and fall of its own. Something as simple as the weather is a trigger.I have found that, like you, it is important to stay focused on the plan. Take care.
ReplyDeleteYou also, Suzanne. May this all soon be in our rear view mirror. Even if that isn't until 2022! (Gotta laugh just a little, right? 😏 )
DeleteHi Tamara, Your wellbeing plan and dinner plan look good. I'm doing well and yes, actively planning my day does the trick. It's still cool where I live, high temps range from 8C (48F) to 15C (59F) which is a blessing because the lake area is deserted and that makes my outdoor walks very relaxing. My grocery shopping experience is like a box of chocolates...(you know the rest of the sentence) :)
ReplyDeleteLOL- love the Gump quote, Natalie! So, seven miles later, plus lot's of items on my plan checked off as done, I'm feeling 100% better. Funny how that always works!
DeleteA continuation of good and bad days, for sure. I think I hit my low at the end of week 6. I need to give myself permission to have low moods; it's entirely understandable in this state of flux. Like you, I schedule some activities to add structure to my day - household chores, baking for care providers, daily walks though not the distances you cover, teleconferences and phone calls, yard work now that Alberta is finally experiencing spring (the snow finally melted last wk). And maybe that was part of my funk. After abiding by the pandemic restrictions for so long, the change in season marked a big transition but not in the pandemic. We'll just keep on keeping on and be grateful for the good things.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy April is almost in the rear view mirror. Our governor has indicated we should surely be onto Phase Two in the next few weeks, meaning, hopefully a return to kayaking/SUP at our harbor, something I have sorely missed. Are you in western Canada, Mona? Hopefully your sunshine is back for the season if so, or soon to be back if not. Sunshine, or the lack thereof has made a hugh difference in my mood for sure.
DeleteI read an interesting suggestion this morning, which was to start off the day by writing a page or two in a journal without regard to where your thoughts might go. The author indicated that we might be surprised at what pours out onto the paper about where are thoughts, feelings, and desires are really pointed when our brain is not so heavily engaged. I'm thinking I'll try it tomorrow and see what comes out.