One of the greatest tragedies in my life is that my boyfriend and I are very allergic to pets. Even stepping foot into a home that’s shared with a cat and/or dog will cause me to start sneezing uncontrollably! Instead of owning real, living pets, we have pivoted to collecting Squishmallows – big, cartoony animal pillows.
A busy day
We’ve given them names, personalities, and arrange them around the house as if they are doing things and talking to each other. We even have short conversations with them (which is embarrassing to admit! but it does stretch my improv muscles, which is nice!) It is all very silly! In the absence of real pets, however, they’ve been another cute, little joy that have carried both of us through quarantine.
I try to take a preventative approach to my health – both mental and physical. When lockdowns first started, I knew I had to find some way to go outside in order to not feel so cooped up and let my body (and mind) breathe.
I used to publicly post all of my walks on Strava, but stopped in August, when my count reached 91 total walks (!!!). I have kept tracking them in the app, and have been relying on the regular walk challenges (sometimes 4 times a week, sometimes 50K in a month) to force myself out, even when it feels tough.
Though I used to feel bad about not going for runs anymore, I soon realized that my body needed a break after an intense marathon training season. I’ve also taken advantage of the lack of races to explore alternate forms of exercise that I would not have normally taken up when I was running 5 days a week, like strength training and pilates.
My favorite parts of taking these walks have been exploring my neighborhood and soaking in the sunshine and greenery around me. Though I suspected that being out and about was important for my mental health before (again, I was out running 5 days a week!), taking these walks on my own accord throughout the year has truly hammered that point home for me. I’ve even noticed a dip in my mood and temperament when I don’t get out and move my body outside.
I completely intended for this gratitude series to be one-a-day from December 1st until December 25th – oops! There are still many things that I want to express gratitude for from this year – so I’m going to wrap up the year with the rest of my posts that have been on my to-do list.
I usually try to drink nicer coffee beans (because I’m one of those), but I could not resist this bag of Dunkin’ Polar Peppermint ground coffee when I saw it! Thankfully, it is terrible, and now I know not to fall for zippy marketing!
I have a weird relationship with coffee. In high school, I guzzled bottled frappucinos like crazy and wondered why I had trouble falling asleep at night. In college, I learned about caffeine (it really took me that long!), and used coffee from the dining hall to carry me through long all-nighters. After college, I took advantage of my office’s neverending stash of iced coffee to adjust to the 9-to-5 life.
As time has gone on, I’ve realized that bad sleep was affecting my life negatively and focused more and more on my sleep hygiene. I’ve alternately tried cutting out caffeine all together, replacing coffee for black tea, replacing coffee for green tea, and only drinking coffee when I felt like I “needed it” to get me through a long day of meetings or exploring a new city while travelling. I love the smell and taste of coffee, but, on the other hand, the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life (so far!) has been intense caffeine headaches.
In quarantine, however, I’ve learned to lean on little pleasures to carry me through the day, and coffee has emerged as one of those many little pleasures. At first, I wanted to go to each of the coffee shops in my neighborhood every morning to support them through the pandemic, but quickly realized that this was not financially sustainable! Instead, I decided to invest in a French press and bags of locally roasted beans to make coffee at home.
Coffee has carried me through many rough mornings throughout this year. Boiling the water, grinding the beans, and pouring out my morning cup has become a grounding ritual, and a way to start my day without jumping straight into work!
Trisha Serquina 