As lives are frozen and events are postponed, Mother Nature keeps moving. Birds nest, weather changes, and time passes.
There have been numerous thoughtful gestures to come from isolation. This post isn’t meant to lessen the seriousness of the pandemic. I caught my negative thoughts acting as falling dominos. A negative thought bumped a tile and became a negative day, and that negative day bumped another, and became a negative week, and so on. I made a list of the goodness to stop more dominos from being knocked down. It’s a reminder that there is much to be thankful for. Some of these may be specific to Michigan.
- Appreciation for frontline workers and educators
- Smaller carbon footprint
- Inexpensive gas
- Employers allowing employees to work remotely instead of laying them off
- More resources for mental health and crisis support
- The Crap I Cooked in Quarantine Facebook group
- Mask donations by generous people like my cousin
- Special store hours to protect the elderly and healthcare workers
- Porch gift drop-offs
- Drive-by-parades for birthdays and other celebrations
- Live streams of penguins roaming the zoos
- Free online college courses
- Video appointments
- Free streams from theaters
- Chris Mann’s quarantine themed cover songs
- Take-home painting kits
- The “Care” reaction on Facebook
- Live stream concerts
- Videos of weathermen with pets, like “Betty the Weather Cat”
- Eviction relief related to COVID-19
- Gyms posting at-home workout videos
- Neighborhood dances and costumes
- Book readings by celebrities
- Recipes shared by Disney
- Free grocery delivery for seniors
- Free educational shows for children
- Connection with family and friends via social media and video applications
- An increase in Tiger King memes and a decrease in political posts (for a short time)
- Discounted or free internet services for essential employees and households homeschooling children
- More time in cozy pajamas and less in pants
Michigan Mental Health Resources
Meal Delivery and Wellness Checks
Wonderful post.
Thank you, Mom. I appreciate it.
Very good Elicia, excellent introduction and list of everlasting new norms! Amazing book and a vast array of self help topics with possible options and new directions for mental health!
Thank you, Dad. I appreciate it. The book will be here soon.
There is a reason that the old adage ‘count your blessings’ has endured through the years.
This would be a good exercise for all of us.
Thanks for your excellent blog.
Thank you, Marilynn. I appreciate your kind comment and I hope more people count with us.