Here are 30 things that bring me happiness during this time where many of us spend large chunks of our time looking at the same 4 walls and the same 5 trees. I have recently had someone close to me pass away because of COVID and I find that focusing on the positives really improves my health and allows me to be resilient at work and in relationships. I hope they help you find ways to add some joy into your life.
- Books… many books
- Our new kitten, Cinnabun
- Running
- At-home yoga
- Road trips, or just random drives through town on occasion, to see something different
- Phone calls with friends across the country, in different countries, down the street
- Craft, puzzle, or movie nights with Jorge
- Daily walks
- Our now cleaner home
- Practicing guitar, finally with an amp
- Crochet
- Sketching
- Zoom calls with co-workers
- Helping people remotely via my internship
- Talking with fellow book nerds on Twitter
- Donating and getting rid of clutter
- Cooking for Jorge
- Stargazing trips in the Atchafalaya basin
- Occasional masked bookstore stops
- Hiking through sunflower and wildflower fields
- Going to pop-up flower shops
- Watching my favorite bands on live stream
- Having a chance to listen to new music
- Writing a children’s book with my fiancé
- Organizing
- Cinnabun again
- Daily walks across the apartment complex to check the mail and walk past the swampy creek we discovered right outside our place
- Seeing friends in a park, 6 feet away from each other, to catch up for the first time since the spring
- Occasional coffee shop visits to help me focus (but with mask on, and distancing, of course)
- Researching topics like the Berlin Wall and the history of the Navajo and Hopi communities.
Lauren Savoie 