Covid Writer's Block

I started this blog a while back because I had little things that made me smile every day, and I wanted to remember them and acknowledge them. Just the little day to day things that make up a life. The way the sunset over the water or the day you stopped at a roadside diner somewhere on the American roadway found the best pancakes in the universe or your first pumpkin spiced coffee of the season.

However, this year it has been exceedingly challenging to write such a blog because one day runs into the next, and there is so much...Sameness. 

"I spent my 234th day in pajamas," isn't much of a celebration, now is it? Or "I successfully completed watching the entire 7 season run of Gilmore Girls for the 4th time in 8 months because everything else depresses me," isn't really such a triumphant accomplishment.

I have blessings to count for sure. 

• I have a roof over my head. 
• Thankfully, so far, no one in my household has contracted COVID. 
• There is a pool in my backyard, so I can get some exercise daily.
• We have plenty of toilet paper.
• Our pantry is full of food.

I do not take all of that for granted.

But. I can't tune out the "stuff I *don't* like today."

• Racial tensions and riots
• A contentious Presidential campaign
• Over 210,000 Americans dead from COVID
• The impending homelessness of many of my fellow Citizens due to no economic relief
• The polarization and fracturing of our nation.

Those big and seemingly unsolvable issues weigh heavy on me. My little observations about fleeting smiles seem so trivial and unimportant right now. Or maybe not.

Maybe that's all we can do in a chaotic world. Find little moments of happiness to find them and hold onto hope that a brighter day is coming.

So, in that spirit, here we go... Today I liked the: 

• My first cup of coffee with delicious Chobani creamer in it. 
• The story on Jon Bon Jovi on CBS Sunday Morning 
• Measuring myself to find I have lost inches thanks to working out daily with my pool weights
• Logging on to the election website to find my mail-in ballot has safely arrived, and my 2020 Vote has been logged.
• Getting a text from a dear old friend who was checking in on me.
• Having quiet time to write and not worrying about what I need to do today because... this is it.

How about you? What is making you smile during this dark time in our history?