In the most recent Walk It Off, I talk with Delia Cai about this small group of children who used to walk by her apartment window that she would post to her Instagram stories, and how those videos brought me joy. I described them as “one of those small, insignificant things that somehow helped me get through last year.” So I wanted to hear from all of you. What was a small, seemingly insignificant thing that helped you get through the pandemic?
This is recent, but if I’m going to get coffee for myself, I buy a cup of coffee for someone who is sitting outside and asking for money. I try to tuck a couple of ones in the sleeve of the cup if I can, or the other day I gave a woman a pack of baby wipes with it, plus some Splenda packets because I know she likes it. It’s a very small thing I have control over and it makes me feel better about all the bigger stuff that’s knocking me on my ass.
there is an elderly couple in my town that walks around the square every morning at exactly 9am, the same pattern every day, weaving in and around and in all sorts of combinations around the paths. every day, the same path, rain or shine, completely didn’t matter how cold or gross it was outside. at the beginning of the pandemic, i felt so lost and anchor-less, and it became a kind of prayer to go out every morning at 9am to make sure they were still walking. on days when i didn’t have any other reason to get out of bed, seeing them walking together held everything together, made me want to get to being 80 and morning walks with someone i love.
I am a retired reading teacher and am fortunate to live with my daughter and her family. Because my 9yo granddaughter was online for school and school is not her “thing”, I sat with her three days a week to help with focus and attention. I read or sewed while she worked, but we got even closer than we were pre-pandemic. Those mornings and afternoons flew by, her grades were so much better and we got to talk about the books she was reading.
Listening to music all the time. ALL THE TIME. One silver lining of not going anywhere was just putting a playlist on for the whole day. And my family, all at home together, sharing music we liked and talking about why we liked (or didn't like) it.
It doesn't take much to do. Half an hour, every day or every other day. And the first 30 seconds are always horrible. HORRIBLE. But in terms of the mood lift I feel afterwards, I feel very foolish for not trying it earlier. It's a tiny investment of energy and a...slightly larger investment of bravery for a *hugely* disproportionate payoff.
If I'd been doing this since the very first lockdown (I've been in Scotland since then), then I'd have made 2020 and the first half of 2021 a lot more bearable. That said, my biggest test is ahead of me. Going in the North Atlantic in winter is a verrrrry different kettle of fish (40-50°F), and I may invest in a wetsuit before Spring arrives once more. Maybe. We shall see. The main thing is to keep going in regardless, whatever it takes...
So I guess I'm one of those people now. (But it's fun!)
Funnily enough it's walks. Every few days for a whole year, I would go for a 40min-1.5hr walk in our residential compound. Just walking back and forth, back and forth. And on a designated special day of the week I'd walk all the way to the market and buy myself a really yummy breakfast to completely offset the calories I'd burned in my walk. The walks were mainly for exercise and getting the sun, but I ended up having some of my best ideas during those walks. Not to mention they gave me much needed time with myself to reflect on major changes happening in my life.
I have to admit, I only started doing this again after a year break but every time I open up the duolingo app on my porch in the middle of the day as a work break, I feel good afterwards. I'm not truly trying to learn the 4 languages I'm doing exercises for (Spanish, Italian, German, Arabic), but switching between them and learning a few words here and there is stimulating for me. It's like fun mini-learning with no stakes. Plus, Spanish idioms are fun, like Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente. A literal translation: "A shrimp that sleeps is carried away by the current." But the more practical meaning is "You snooze, you lose."
Walking barefoot in the grass at the park. Jumping in the ocean with all my clothes on. Climbing trees. Running until I collapsed. Cuddling under the blankets with as many pillows as I could gather. Basically anything that allowed me to feel *touched* when my skin was aching for contact with other humans.
We had little rooftop herbs that ended up hosting caterpillars, which turned into stunning black butterflies (black swallowtails!). It was storybook enchanting to me. I obsessed over them, read about them constantly, cried when they emerged, all of it.
A home in my neighborhood has a French Bulldog, who takes naps on the window sill, between the glass and the blinds. It always makes me smile when I walk by and catch him snoozing.
In my college town, I lived on the same block as a daycare. Even when school became a crunch and I was under the weather mentally, hearing their joyful play at the playground. Every morning I tried to wave to them on their class walk and looked forward to their excited cries of “mom” “dad” as their parents pulled up at 4 or 5.
We started watching the daily free Met Opera stream just after they started it. Traviata, La Fille du Regiment, Lucia, Tristan and Isolde, then the whole Ring over the next 4 days. We had no idea what we were getting into. All that empty time became a luxury. Watched it almost every day after that.
Because we were home every day, my husband and I fell into a morning breakfast routine that always included brewing a favorite coffee. I found myself looking forward to that morning cup, actively taking pleasure in every step, from grinding the beans to reading the paper while sipping coffee.
I bought myself a chocolate sheet cake. Was it too much cake for one person? Yes. Did I have any regrets? Absolutely not. It was a small tangible way to bring some joy into my life.
Finally binging on Downton Abbey then straight into Peaky Blinders - and audiobooks on my walks -- and birds chirping. That's the strange one. I'm not a huge fan of birds but there was something calming about hearing them on my walks and through open windows.
Making a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough on Sunday, keeping it in the fridge, and then baking a fresh cookie in the toaster oven when I hit the midday slump/panic spiral every weekday afternoon.
Snail mail! Rachel Syme set up Penpalooza last year, and I've gotten so much joy from it. I've loved getting to know people all over the world that I never would have met otherwise. And because of this, I've learned how to express myself better, and to be present in the moment. I write to ~35 people (!) on a regular basis (letters or postcards), all from Penpalooza :)
We are a blended family, with two of our adult kids living in Canada. We didn’t see them for over a year, but then they were able to come down here to be vaccinated & ended up staying almost three months. Our other one was home from college as well, so we all got to cozy up for longer together than we probably ever have before. Seeing the love and respect between our kids day after day was definitely a salve for the soul.
Got to be my husband, family and grandson, luckily was in a bubble with them! and working on music in the studio, creativity helps so much it's like therapy:)
I keep reassuring myself of how privileged I am to still be able to afford money to buy things in midst of the pandemic where everyone had lost their jobs and struggling, but – I recently returned to my old love : Polaroid photography. I found this store that sells 600 type films and I bought a bunch of them and because they are expensive, I limited myself to take only one exposure per day. Not all of them turned out great, but it had made me less sad and for the first time in two years I wanted to get out bed so I could walk around,see what I could capture, and watch the details of the photo materialise before my very eyes.
I got to have lunch and dinner with both my teenage sons throughout the pandemic and we really appreciated this "extra" time that we would not have otherwise had. I got to hold them close a little longer and that made my momma heart swell. We also made a grotesque number of cookies. Every week. There is a local bakery that became my flour connection and felt illicit at first (which, let's face it, makes cookies taste better). Best flour I've ever used!
Becoming a plant person. In the past, even cacti we’re not safe around me. But when I moved into my current place last year, my daughter gifted me with an aloe vera plant. Jon Snow is still breathing and thriving so I’ve added Rihanna (sansaveria laurentii), Zadie (zz plant), Mariah (golden pothos) and Daenerys (propagated from pothos). I plan to add more eventually.
Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." In a year where there was so much that was difficult, hard and intense, it was nice to have this soft, fluffy show about nothing important to watch.
My friends at work in my hospital (at times it felt like wartime camaraderie), lots of online educational opportunities (Thanks to the Smithsonian, The Frick, and many others. I saw at least 6 per month and sometimes 2 per day), and Randy Rainbow on YouTube. His parodies of songs made me laugh and sing along. Thanks to all!
Reading old-old favorites (Little House in the Big Woods was super comforting) and watching from across our shared alleyway my neighbor's cat watching the birds.
I recently moved to the Western part of Maine and bought an old house with a barn. For the past 14 months I have been living the dream by setting up a cozy woodshop in the barn and building stuff for the house. I actually used all the wood I have been hoarding for the last 30 years! Before this I lived with my son in a two bedroom apartment and now, somehow, I have been granted this opportunity. What a coincidence that it happened during lockdown year.
For me, it was watching the sunset every day. It was a way to make sure I was noticing something beautiful and joyful each day. It also made me feel connected because I knew a lot of other people were watching it too!
FOCACCIA. Kneading it, proofing it, baking it off, the crunch of the brined surface and the squish of the moist, cavernous interior and the look on my friend's faces when it showed up hanging from their doorknobs 😍✨
Living in a city where porch culture is a thing, so people walking by were happy to say hi, stop to chat, sit in a garden chair on the sidewalk with a beer. We know so many more neighbors now. It's shocking to think this was our entire social life for a year.
I'm in grad school so I haven't gotten to do a lot of pleasure reading the last few years but in 2020 I made time for novels and it helped a whole lot. I had forgotten what quality escapism a good novel is, and what it feels like to be in the middle of a book you can't wait to get back to reading after work.
Big Thief’s “U.F.O.F.” and my daughter and I painting a rainbow on our window with marker pens. Lockdown here in Spain was rough, our 2 kids couldn’t even leave the house for 7 weeks.
Our local library (in a tiny town!) was one of the first around here to start curbside pick-up. Such a genius idea--reserve books from the online catalog, they text you when they're ready, call them when you arrive and they bring it out to your car, or yourself if you're on foot. Because, of course, WALKING also got me through and the library is only a block and a half away :-)
Candles and bubble bath. Small creature comforts to make home more homey.
Going for walks helped too, when the weather was nice - especially when we had a stay at home order and basically only left the block to go to the grocery store once a week.
This is recent, but if I’m going to get coffee for myself, I buy a cup of coffee for someone who is sitting outside and asking for money. I try to tuck a couple of ones in the sleeve of the cup if I can, or the other day I gave a woman a pack of baby wipes with it, plus some Splenda packets because I know she likes it. It’s a very small thing I have control over and it makes me feel better about all the bigger stuff that’s knocking me on my ass.
there is an elderly couple in my town that walks around the square every morning at exactly 9am, the same pattern every day, weaving in and around and in all sorts of combinations around the paths. every day, the same path, rain or shine, completely didn’t matter how cold or gross it was outside. at the beginning of the pandemic, i felt so lost and anchor-less, and it became a kind of prayer to go out every morning at 9am to make sure they were still walking. on days when i didn’t have any other reason to get out of bed, seeing them walking together held everything together, made me want to get to being 80 and morning walks with someone i love.
bodega flowers, for sure
I am a retired reading teacher and am fortunate to live with my daughter and her family. Because my 9yo granddaughter was online for school and school is not her “thing”, I sat with her three days a week to help with focus and attention. I read or sewed while she worked, but we got even closer than we were pre-pandemic. Those mornings and afternoons flew by, her grades were so much better and we got to talk about the books she was reading.
Making S'mores in the broiler
Listening to music all the time. ALL THE TIME. One silver lining of not going anywhere was just putting a playlist on for the whole day. And my family, all at home together, sharing music we liked and talking about why we liked (or didn't like) it.
In the middle of this year, I started throwing myself in the sea.
I'm in Scotland right now, so this is not a warm thing to experience - but I've been inspired by my friend Anna, who just had this published at Outside: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/water-activities/cold-water-swimming-mindfulness/
It doesn't take much to do. Half an hour, every day or every other day. And the first 30 seconds are always horrible. HORRIBLE. But in terms of the mood lift I feel afterwards, I feel very foolish for not trying it earlier. It's a tiny investment of energy and a...slightly larger investment of bravery for a *hugely* disproportionate payoff.
If I'd been doing this since the very first lockdown (I've been in Scotland since then), then I'd have made 2020 and the first half of 2021 a lot more bearable. That said, my biggest test is ahead of me. Going in the North Atlantic in winter is a verrrrry different kettle of fish (40-50°F), and I may invest in a wetsuit before Spring arrives once more. Maybe. We shall see. The main thing is to keep going in regardless, whatever it takes...
So I guess I'm one of those people now. (But it's fun!)
Funnily enough it's walks. Every few days for a whole year, I would go for a 40min-1.5hr walk in our residential compound. Just walking back and forth, back and forth. And on a designated special day of the week I'd walk all the way to the market and buy myself a really yummy breakfast to completely offset the calories I'd burned in my walk. The walks were mainly for exercise and getting the sun, but I ended up having some of my best ideas during those walks. Not to mention they gave me much needed time with myself to reflect on major changes happening in my life.
I have to admit, I only started doing this again after a year break but every time I open up the duolingo app on my porch in the middle of the day as a work break, I feel good afterwards. I'm not truly trying to learn the 4 languages I'm doing exercises for (Spanish, Italian, German, Arabic), but switching between them and learning a few words here and there is stimulating for me. It's like fun mini-learning with no stakes. Plus, Spanish idioms are fun, like Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente. A literal translation: "A shrimp that sleeps is carried away by the current." But the more practical meaning is "You snooze, you lose."
Walking barefoot in the grass at the park. Jumping in the ocean with all my clothes on. Climbing trees. Running until I collapsed. Cuddling under the blankets with as many pillows as I could gather. Basically anything that allowed me to feel *touched* when my skin was aching for contact with other humans.
We had little rooftop herbs that ended up hosting caterpillars, which turned into stunning black butterflies (black swallowtails!). It was storybook enchanting to me. I obsessed over them, read about them constantly, cried when they emerged, all of it.
A home in my neighborhood has a French Bulldog, who takes naps on the window sill, between the glass and the blinds. It always makes me smile when I walk by and catch him snoozing.
In my college town, I lived on the same block as a daycare. Even when school became a crunch and I was under the weather mentally, hearing their joyful play at the playground. Every morning I tried to wave to them on their class walk and looked forward to their excited cries of “mom” “dad” as their parents pulled up at 4 or 5.
We started watching the daily free Met Opera stream just after they started it. Traviata, La Fille du Regiment, Lucia, Tristan and Isolde, then the whole Ring over the next 4 days. We had no idea what we were getting into. All that empty time became a luxury. Watched it almost every day after that.
Because we were home every day, my husband and I fell into a morning breakfast routine that always included brewing a favorite coffee. I found myself looking forward to that morning cup, actively taking pleasure in every step, from grinding the beans to reading the paper while sipping coffee.
I bought myself a chocolate sheet cake. Was it too much cake for one person? Yes. Did I have any regrets? Absolutely not. It was a small tangible way to bring some joy into my life.
Ted Lasso, sourdough, neighborhood dogs and Harry Styles music.
Finally binging on Downton Abbey then straight into Peaky Blinders - and audiobooks on my walks -- and birds chirping. That's the strange one. I'm not a huge fan of birds but there was something calming about hearing them on my walks and through open windows.
Making a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough on Sunday, keeping it in the fridge, and then baking a fresh cookie in the toaster oven when I hit the midday slump/panic spiral every weekday afternoon.
Honestly? My black cat, Cleo. I should probably say my girlfriend, but if I’m really honest I’ve gotta say the cat.
Snail mail! Rachel Syme set up Penpalooza last year, and I've gotten so much joy from it. I've loved getting to know people all over the world that I never would have met otherwise. And because of this, I've learned how to express myself better, and to be present in the moment. I write to ~35 people (!) on a regular basis (letters or postcards), all from Penpalooza :)
Patrick Stewart reciting a Shakespeare sonnet a day. And Ted Lasso
I found myself re-reading, some books I hadn't read for many years, so it was an almost-new experience, everything apprehended through different eyes.
We are a blended family, with two of our adult kids living in Canada. We didn’t see them for over a year, but then they were able to come down here to be vaccinated & ended up staying almost three months. Our other one was home from college as well, so we all got to cozy up for longer together than we probably ever have before. Seeing the love and respect between our kids day after day was definitely a salve for the soul.
Learning Portuguese:)
Got to be my husband, family and grandson, luckily was in a bubble with them! and working on music in the studio, creativity helps so much it's like therapy:)
I keep reassuring myself of how privileged I am to still be able to afford money to buy things in midst of the pandemic where everyone had lost their jobs and struggling, but – I recently returned to my old love : Polaroid photography. I found this store that sells 600 type films and I bought a bunch of them and because they are expensive, I limited myself to take only one exposure per day. Not all of them turned out great, but it had made me less sad and for the first time in two years I wanted to get out bed so I could walk around,see what I could capture, and watch the details of the photo materialise before my very eyes.
I got to have lunch and dinner with both my teenage sons throughout the pandemic and we really appreciated this "extra" time that we would not have otherwise had. I got to hold them close a little longer and that made my momma heart swell. We also made a grotesque number of cookies. Every week. There is a local bakery that became my flour connection and felt illicit at first (which, let's face it, makes cookies taste better). Best flour I've ever used!
Listening to music and going for bike rides down to the water
Becoming a plant person. In the past, even cacti we’re not safe around me. But when I moved into my current place last year, my daughter gifted me with an aloe vera plant. Jon Snow is still breathing and thriving so I’ve added Rihanna (sansaveria laurentii), Zadie (zz plant), Mariah (golden pothos) and Daenerys (propagated from pothos). I plan to add more eventually.
Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." In a year where there was so much that was difficult, hard and intense, it was nice to have this soft, fluffy show about nothing important to watch.
My friends at work in my hospital (at times it felt like wartime camaraderie), lots of online educational opportunities (Thanks to the Smithsonian, The Frick, and many others. I saw at least 6 per month and sometimes 2 per day), and Randy Rainbow on YouTube. His parodies of songs made me laugh and sing along. Thanks to all!
Reading old-old favorites (Little House in the Big Woods was super comforting) and watching from across our shared alleyway my neighbor's cat watching the birds.
Every season of survivor
Bubble baths. :)
I recently moved to the Western part of Maine and bought an old house with a barn. For the past 14 months I have been living the dream by setting up a cozy woodshop in the barn and building stuff for the house. I actually used all the wood I have been hoarding for the last 30 years! Before this I lived with my son in a two bedroom apartment and now, somehow, I have been granted this opportunity. What a coincidence that it happened during lockdown year.
For me, it was watching the sunset every day. It was a way to make sure I was noticing something beautiful and joyful each day. It also made me feel connected because I knew a lot of other people were watching it too!
FOCACCIA. Kneading it, proofing it, baking it off, the crunch of the brined surface and the squish of the moist, cavernous interior and the look on my friend's faces when it showed up hanging from their doorknobs 😍✨
Living in a city where porch culture is a thing, so people walking by were happy to say hi, stop to chat, sit in a garden chair on the sidewalk with a beer. We know so many more neighbors now. It's shocking to think this was our entire social life for a year.
You all might enjoy this song... https://bluntobjects.bandcamp.com/track/i-like-to-walk
I'm in grad school so I haven't gotten to do a lot of pleasure reading the last few years but in 2020 I made time for novels and it helped a whole lot. I had forgotten what quality escapism a good novel is, and what it feels like to be in the middle of a book you can't wait to get back to reading after work.
Big Thief’s “U.F.O.F.” and my daughter and I painting a rainbow on our window with marker pens. Lockdown here in Spain was rough, our 2 kids couldn’t even leave the house for 7 weeks.
Our local library (in a tiny town!) was one of the first around here to start curbside pick-up. Such a genius idea--reserve books from the online catalog, they text you when they're ready, call them when you arrive and they bring it out to your car, or yourself if you're on foot. Because, of course, WALKING also got me through and the library is only a block and a half away :-)
Multiple viewings of "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga" with Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. Pure escapism.
Trying out air fryer recipes with the fam!
Candles and bubble bath. Small creature comforts to make home more homey.
Going for walks helped too, when the weather was nice - especially when we had a stay at home order and basically only left the block to go to the grocery store once a week.
Binge-watching ‘This Is Us’