Here in Arizona, the governor recently announced that public school buildings are closed for the rest of this school year. (Schools aren’t closed; the buildings are closed.) Teachers and principals are still working. I’m sad for all of the kids and teachers and parents who had something in the fourth quarter to look forward to. … Read more
Kids work through stress and unfamiliar situations through play. (This is why play therapy is very effective with littles.) The last play date we had (two weeks ago?), the kids were playing “corona zombies.” Since play dates have ended, The Kid was playing a robber/spy game by himself where he had to steal and avoid … Read more
Solidarity incited among introverts via memes in the theme of staying home versus socializing. They’ve always rubbed me the wrong way because they didn’t fit me. I’m definitely an introvert. And I definitely enjoy socializing. (In certain contexts.) And, as I wrote about recently, a good girlfriend date is definitely energizing. My depression is always … Read more
“You choose what you put out into the world.” I don’t remember where this crossed my path recently, but it was timely. It ties in to an earlier post about negative people—from a first-person perspective. My output of complaining goes in cycles. When I notice it’s increasing, I make an effort to cut it back. … Read more
If you read Monday’s post on time organization, you know I feel busy too much of the time. This is a sentiment shared by nearly everyone in my social circles. (If you don’t, please go to Monday’s post, read it, and tell us your secrets in the comments.) A while back, before Christmas, I had … Read more
I was at physical therapy. There was an older woman finishing up her appointment. She had one of the standard old white lady perms. Her hair was dyed purple, fading. She had on a grey long-sleeved T-shirt with an emerald green short-sleeved T-shirt over it which read BE HAPPY in white letters. And shiny silver … Read more
A quote crossed my path. It ties into my thoughts a few weeks ago about hidden sides of people, though that train of thought was more about context. This one is more personal. Intimate. “There’s the you that you present to the world, and then there’s, you know, of course the real one and, if … Read more
A friend’s father-in-law is in his final hours. I would not text her right now to complain about … anything. Thinking about that led me to realize that perhaps people get situations confused. Or just aren’t able to find out what direction to go in other difficult situations. When I was first diagnosed with cancer, … Read more
I hate planned obsolescence. I hate cheap shit. I hate the “everything disposable” mindset. I hate WalMart and the Dollar Store. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to pay tons of money for everything, necessarily, but we need to find a way back to well-made things that can be kept for a long time, … Read more
Saturday last weekend, I was at a funeral for the husband of a coworker. I know this coworker strictly at work. We’ve never talked about life outside the building; we’re not connected through any social media. During the service, they played a slideshow, trying to capture this man’s life. (Can you ever really capture it?) … Read more