9 Small Things That Help Me Through This Pandemic

It seems like I should have been writing this a year ago, 6 months ago, 3 months ago, but you know what? I always thought, ‘Hey, it’s gonna end soon, right?’ Little did I know. In the meanwhile, I am very annoyed, exhausted, weary. I’m pretty sure many of you out there are struggling too.

The Daily Grind

It is a daily grind to get up the motivation to even get out of bed. Sometimes. Most of the time. And you know the funny thing about all of this? My life hasn’t changed, been affected all that much by the ‘Rona Virus. I can still do my daily grocery shopping and whatever else I need. I’m a happy single person (don’t know why I feel the need to add “happy single” but I am. For the record.) I don’t stock up, I buy fresh daily. It’s a ritual. I get myself a coffee, wander about, do my shopping. Although with the annoying mask, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve left my coffee cup abandoned somewhere on a shelf of a drugstore or grocery store. Oh, by the way, I’m the one who pladoyers for ‘bring your own personal coffee cup’. You know, save on trash. Despite or in spite of the pandemic, I have been successful in using it and am locally known as the ‘Oh, here she comes, the lady with the personal coffee cup.’

Note to self: Distribute Flyers extolling the virtues of using less, and bringing your own coffee cup/tumbler whatever you want to call it

I’ve written posts about it, there’s so much in various media outlets how we need to follow the ‘less is more’ credo yet nobody brings their own cup. It’s a small thing, a tiny contribution, but you know how many years it takes for one coffee cup to decompose? 30 years. I wrote about it.

1. Save, use less, every little bit counts. We all want to do grand things. Well, I got news for you: We can do small things and be part of one grand movement. So do your part. Use less. Of everything. And at least put the recyclables (throwaways like cans and paper that actually do get recycled almost at a rate of 100%) in the proper containers.
2. Get exercise. Not everyone is the type who gets up at 4 AM and goes for a swim. I say this because I heard Rahm Emanuel does this. And lots of other overachievers. I’m not one of them. But I do go for a run every single day. 3 km or approx. 2 miles. Everyday. There’s a story behind this because I wasn’t always this consistent. I couldn’t run for two years due to an atrophy in my hip. I had my left hip replaced last year, just before this whole pandemic hit, so I was incredibly lucky to have had surgery before hospitals stopped taking patients with non-life-threatening needs. Six-month recovery time. Since August 2020, I’ve been running again. Music and movement. And it’s wonderful.
3. If you’re not into running, walk. And since it’s getting warmer, walk on the grass, through the woods, in a park — barefoot. For at least 10 minutes. You won’t believe how much that helps. Proven to help against depression. Really. Nothing beats wiggling your toes in the grass.
4. Stop watching 24/7 news. Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s important to be informed — by serious media — not some freakazoid lunatic blogs on Facebook or wherever they hideout. Newspapers. I selectively read newspapers — mostly online — but at my pace. Notifications turned off. I am sick of being inundated with everything Corona. I am sick of hearing about it. It may sound like a head in the sand policy. It’s not. I know what to do. I follow the rules. I test regularly, wear the mask, wash my hands, distance, and patiently await my vaccination notification. But, as is the way of corporate media, they go with a big story and run and run and run with it. Adnauseum. I refuse to participate and go crazy. Nope.
5. Choose your comfort food. By that I mean, find yourself a niche, a space where you can just watch shows that make you feel good. Whatever comforts you. Nature documentaries (there’s a great channel on YouTube with excellent, high-quality nature docs — all free) old series you’ve seen a million times, movies: The Mummy is currently my go-to fav), children's books (The Secret Garden: You brought us back to life) Like I said — comfort viewing. Mine: Call the Midwife, Season One of Grey’s Anatomy (before it went off the rails with all those weird plot points, like the unexploded rocket launcher inside some guy, the pink mist thing (very disturbing), and relationship wrenches) and I discovered the 12 season series Bones. Who knew there was a show that completely passed me by at the time, where scientists are the stars. I love it. Why ahead of its time. And I’ve been watching these shows on a daily basis when I need some comfort. They do the job. I kind of feel bad for all the shows I’m supposed to be watching (according to my fav podcast PCHH) — I sometimes give their recommendations a go, occasionally — but Emily in Paris utterly destroyed my belief in serial pop-cultural innovation coming from American shores. Good grief was that an awful series. Who dresses like that anymore? Sex and the City had its heyday but I got news for Darren Star — it’s so over.
6. Books. Yes, I belong to those hoarders of books. I buy and pile. What happens? Guilt. I feel guilty about all the books I haven’t read. My strategy: I choose one out of the pile (currently, The Beethoven Papers, a collection of letters and notes written by Beethoven and collected by one of his admirers Ignaz Ritter von Seyfried) and read a minimum of one page a day. Steady wins the race. Better one page than no pages, amirite?
7. Write and send letters, cards, postcards. Choose one. And send to people you love, haven’t seen in ages > reconnect in the old-fashioned way. Although I gotta tell you, US Postal Service between Europe and New York sucks. Letters and cards get to my sister in Washington State within a week. The same mail going to my Bestie on the East Coast: 6–8 weeks. Or they just disappear and never arrive. So I always take picture proof I actually sent them. It’s the thought that counts. Kind of.

8. Visit Museums. Now, this is a tricky one. As the regulations and openings are different in every country, region, province, state. Currently, where I’m living, they’re closed. Again. But when they re-open, I go to the smaller galleries and museums. The art gives me the same comfort as comfort food and comfort shows. #keepartalive. Plus I really hurt for all the artists suffering during this time.

9. Talk to Strangers. Yep. I have been talking to the most random people ever. In the shops that are open. At administrative offices. On the bus. At the bus stops. I am actually being nice and talkative to random people. Usually, you should know, I keep to myself, have headphones on, and ignore everybody. Not since the Pandemic started. I have become nice. Standing in line, waiting for testing, an older lady with a walker, asked me if this was the correct line. Instead of just saying yes, I guided her to the front of the line and helped her get in quicker. The line was long and I didn’t want her waiting for at least 15 minutes. Little acts of kindness. Don’t bust out the halo. It’s just thinking a little more about others.

9 1/2. Oh, and I do pick up trash along my running path. I know. It’s a bit of an Eww. But I have those surgical gloves with me. If I were more gregarious, I’d organize a neighborhood collecting trash party. I’m not quite there yet.

These suggestions and things I do just make me feel that I’ve done something. Small things count. People power. Steady wins the race. The more the merrier. Stay safe and sane.