I can only speak for me but I've been pretty consumed with myself and my family lately. Everyone is busy stock piling food (and apparently toilet paper), and safe guarding themselves and family members against getting sick. Couple that with social distancing and orders to "stay put", and we're not in the best position or mental state to be thinking outside of our immediate circles. People feel closed off, they are sheltering in. This won't last forever, but we need to find ways to thrive during this, not just survive.
Yesterday Amanda told me she baked sugar cookies and made 7 colors of frosting to make "cookie decorating care packages" to leave on the doorstep of her friends with children. How cool is that? It was a good reminder that NOW is the perfect time to do random acts of kindness for people we love. Everyone is feeling stressed right now, and on edge, so how wonderful would it be to get a box of cookies on your doorstep? Or get a package in the mail with a new water bottle, cosmetic case, or cute tee (we can't do the cookie thing, but Melange can help with the others).
Today Amanda talked about her deep, DEEP frustration at not being able to find split peas ANY-where. Without going into too much detail, it was really important for her to make a special meal that included split pea soup. When we got off the phone I started digging thru my incredibly inefficient pantry (shelves are WAY too deep), and I managed to find a bag of split pea soup intact. I immediately packaged it up, printed a shipping label and dumped it into a blue box. No social contact necessary. It was a little thing, hardly anything really (I would give Amanda a kidney if she needed it), but the point is that it felt good to just do something for someone that I knew would brighten their day. These are some turbulent times but if we don't retain some tenderness for others AND for ourselves, then they get way more turbulent and stressful. Tenderness can be sending a box of goodies to a friend, finding yourself a new tee in a color you love, or baking cookies for a neighbor. It can only make you feel better, and you deserve that.
Signed, ME {lv}
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