Hello, It's Bad
You do not need another person telling you how bad it is out there.
Though I have to say, it’s kind of comforting to see every single person around me buzzing with the same level of anxiety that I feel, oh, all the time. J had a hard time sleeping last night and instead of being a supportive partner I said, “Oh, remember my entire August?” Welcome to my brain, everyone.
Instead, I’m going to do a quick list of ten things that are inspiring me today. Because hello, it’s bad. But maybe we can all find a pocket of good.
My aloe plant, which I’ve had for a couple of years now, is now growing some new sprouts. And guys, it’s very cute. It’s very cute to see something surviving and thriving and telling me it’s happy enough to keep growing, even after years of stagnation.
The library books I want to be reading keep showing up super fast. And it’s inspiring me to get into a better bedtime routine, one that has lots of time for reading before falling asleep. I’m going to screw that up all over again once Dust rehearsals start. But hey! In the ten days between now and then, I can spend my evenings with books.
A play that I considered “finished” for, um, two years is showing me some of its surprises. There’s still so much more to mine, so I’m going to dig.
I put on an outfit today that makes me feel like I can take on the entire world. And I just keep seeing more and more people, so it turns out it was a good day to wear it.
I’m finding ways to give back to the friends who give me so much of their own time and talents. Today, that’s manifesting in a pair of pants I’ve promised to mend for Cheyenne — a project that I’m really looking forward to tackling because of how much she means to me.
On Saturday night, my grandma texted me to turn back my clocks, which is just so sweet for many reasons. She knows how to text now (!!!) and she uses emojis (!!!) and I’m still thinking about how, last mont, I watched The Farewell with her in her living room and it was the perfect grandmother-granddaughter movie to watch.
I walked around my neighborhood a bunch this afternoon — and so did so many of my neighbors. We’re enjoying this rare day of sunshine and hey it’s pretty damn great to witness that.
Tonight, I get to gather with a bunch of people who are building a play that I wrote. And dear lord I’m never going to get over how fucking cool that is. I have some mild First Production Meeting jitters, but I’m more excited than anything else.
The sun is staying out later, when we have the sun at all. And for the last two days, we’ve had the sun.
I’m happy. For the most part, I’m very happy.
This list isn’t meant to belittle the reality of COVID-19. Wash your hands, check in with your loved ones, stay home if you’re sick. Help where you can and when you can. (Anne Helen Peterson has some great information on this.) Stay healthy, my friends, if you can.