How am I doing? Well, I just wiped down the container of Lysol wipes with a Lysol wipe. So I’m fine. Everything’s fine. We’re three weeks into social distancing and I’m fairly certain any sentient human can agree on this: Quarantines are hard. Seeing as this is our first rodeo without any foreseeable end, it certainly feels absolutely daunting at times — but there’s always a silver lining. Always.
Sure, there are moments when I feel the four walls of our rental home caving in on me so I figured I would share with you all the things that are keeping me somewhat sane during these weird times. Most are free and simple pleasures — so here goes!
- 45-minute run/walks through the sunny neighborhood every morning. A raised heart beat, sweating, Vitamin D and peacock sightings are so therapeutic.
- Tiger King memes. Nuff said.
- Funny AF text threads with my gal pals.
- My kids. Now more than ever, Ava’s dry sense of humor and Yiani’s always-sunny disposition are mega pick-me-ups.
- Bringing my Rollerblading skills out of retirement (even if I busted serious ass on the first day).
- Netflix’s Unorthodox and Tiger King, and Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere.
- Reading books (loving The Gifted School right now).
- Soothing YouTube videos of facials (Dr. Pimple Popper is my fave, my kids, on the other hand love whack-ass ASMR videos. To each their own).
- Self-care in the shape of face masks, DIY hair dye and Baby Foot pedicures. Please do NOT touch your eyebrows, okay? Leave that for the pros.
- Supporting local. Ordering from my fave sushi haunt to scoring my go-to face serum from a local beauty emporium is more important now than ever.
- Spreading kindness — wether it’s scribbling things we are grateful for on the sidewalks with colorful chalk to baking churros for your neighbor to banging pots for our first responders, man!, these small deeds feel good.
- Cooking and baking (what a wonderful distraction!).
- Instagram live fitness and meditation classes.
- FaceTiming my family
- Trashy reality TV such as Shahs of Sunset and The Real Housewives of New York (#Life — also did Tins get a low-key nose job?)
- My husband — he has the uncanny ability to pick me up when I am down AF
- Ferreting out essentials such as almond flour, acetone and toilet paper online. How victorious did you feel when you found that Bounty roll 4-pack on Amazon? Uh huh, HONEY.
Sure, I have my moments where I’m full of anxiety and obsessing about the virus and its fallout, but if I engage in any of the above activities, I’ll feel a wee bit better about my life even if it’s fleeting.
More tips? I will also confess that I allot news coverage viewing to 5 minutes a day. Why? Because when I do watch the news, I absorb all that negative energy and it truly terrifies me. The news at this moment is akin to watching A Nightmare on Elm Street where Freddie Krueger is reals. No bueno.
As for drinking, I limit that to one day a week. As I get older, I find alcohol has a depressant effect on me the following day. Again, no judgement here (you do you!) — these are tips that work for me because I’ve been hyper self-aware with the quarantine.
As for social media, we are on it more than ever right now according to my personal Instagram insights, so follow people who feed your soul. Mute/unfollow the ones that make you feel bad for firing up the oven and baking a batch of Nestle Toll House cookies. Ya feel? It’s totally okay to be unproductive right now. Things are funky, dudes.
Now, back to the happy stuff! Moving my body daily outdoors has been key to remaining optimistic and happy (it’s a new semblance of happy rn, but I will take it). I’ve been wearing the below biker shorts every day because the fit is perfection — they suck my belly in and don’t ride up. I am also sharing my Rollerblades (they fit true to size) with you all, too. Both are available for delivery. In the meantime, stay safe and stay home. We are all in this together and you know what? This is just temporary. Remember that.
