It was a stressful and sad week, fraught with a couple sleepless nights. Another “old” blogger friend left this mortal plane. We had fallen out of touch, but we had met “IRL” just shortly after his wedding and enjoyed a visit and tour of his home town. I was sad to read of his passing (just after his 50th birthday.) I know he had quite a few struggles the last few years. I feel for the loss his family and friends are experiencing now.

So, it was no great surprise that I woke up this morning feeling blue (as is happening more often, lately, between work stress, the pandemic, and the ugliness society is revealing through their lack of concern for others.) Rather than give into it, I followed the checklist of mood-lifting steps:

• Got out of bed, showered, and put on a fresh frock.
• Opened the blinds and flooded the house with sunlight.
• Had my morning coffee on the back porch in the fresh air.
• Asked Siri to play “Happy Music” on the home pod.

I started to feel my mood lift a bit. Then came the small accomplishment part of the “perk me up” program:

• A nice older couple came by to pick up some odds and ends from our basement that I had offered up on Freecycle, thus clearing out a few more unwanted “gathering dust” items from the basement without adding to the landfills.
• We put brackets on our (sleep number) bed frames in anticipation of ordering headboards. (Long overdue.)
• We did a load of laundry.
• We went for a long drive and picked up some liquor from a small mom and pop store out in the middle of nowhere, thereby getting out of our daily rut and supporting a local small business.
• We came home and picked up the newest batch of garbage strewn behind our fence buy our ever thoughtless neighbors.

So, while I’m not euphoric, I’m feeling better than I did upon awakening, and that’s something.

On another note, our basement refinishing is finally underway, something I’ve wanted done for 8 years. It was started on Friday and it’s being done by a one-man operation (and friend), so exposure is limited. He’s sticking to the path from our front door to the basement, and we always all wear masks at a distance when interacting. Its hard not giving hugs like old friends do, but we’re all trying to stay safe while giving him much needed business and income, and he’s giving us our dream space. (Actually, my dream space, since it will mostly be a comic book lounge when all is said and done.) I’ll share pictures as progress is made.

Hope you’re all staying safe and finding ways to smile.