March | 2020 | Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

1. Elizabeth Warren Nailed the Drake ‘Flip the Switch’ TikTok Challenge at ‘SNL’: Watch.

2. Yoga for All Bodies: Jessica Rihal is getting people to love their bodies – on and off the mat. In related news, For Black, Southern Women, Practicing Mindfulness Offers Escape.

3. Interview with Alison Brie: ‘The effects of trauma spider-webbed through the whole family.’

4. Black Woman-Owned “The Honey Pot” Attacked Online: Let’s Talk About Intersectional Feminism.

5. How One Man Turned His Backyard Garden Into a Full-Fledged Community Farmers Market.

6. Recipes I want to try: spiced cauliflower and potatoes + more, and 16 Decadent Pasta Dishes That Don’t Contain Dairy, and “Marry Me” Cookies, and Lemon Pound Cake.

7. There’s A Twitter Account That Posts Cow Pics Every Day Just To Make People Smile.

8. The Dixie Chicks Have Released Their First New Song In 14 Years And It’s Incredible.

9. High school student near Seattle builds website to serve as a leading place for coronavirus information.

10. 4 Common HSP Health Challenges (and How to Deal With Them).

11. i don’t know how to make you care about other people.

Like so many others, I’ve spent the week thinking about Democratic politics (exhausting!) and COVID-19 (also exhausting!) As many have noted, America is particularly susceptible to a burgeoning pandemic because of our broken health care system (specifically: the number of people who are un- or under-covered by insurance, and thus will opt not to seek care) and the number of workers who lack paid sick leave. But it also challenges the very American cult of the individual: the idea that you take care of you and yours, but also the idea that if you’re fine, then everything’s fine.

12. A post in which the F-word appears. Repeatedly. from Rita’s Notebook.

13. How to make a zine from a single sheet of paper from Austin Kleon.

14. What I think about COVID-19 this morning (a Google doc), a really helpful overview.

15. Afraid to Retire? What to Do on Day One.

16. Willie Nelson and His Son Lukas Covers “Just Breathe.”

1. Morning walks. On one this week the sky really lit up, and on another we walked through the snow by the river.

2. Good food. I’ve been avoiding campus or campus events and even most campus people cause it feels too soon, too tender, but this week I took myself to lunch at one of my old favorite work lunch spots right across the street from CSU.

3. Good content. I finished Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives and Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, both really helpful. I also finished watching Gentefied on Netflix, which was really good too, (although just dramatic enough I could only watch one episode a day).

4. Good friends. People I can trust, who make me laugh.

5. My tiny family. My favorites. Eric is such a good husband, offers me so much support and loves me so much, and I love that Ringo gets I’m also his person now that I’m home more often, and even though Sam triggered my anxiety last night waking up choke coughing, he eased it later when he got in bed and spooned with me.

Bonus joy: aqua aerobics, sitting in the sauna, yoga, meditation, this mantra, taco bean salad, fresh lemonade, tulips, bird song in the morning, a good therapist, Girl Scout Thin Mints, canceled plans, reading in bed at night while Eric and the dogs sleep, TV shows that are easy to watch (like HGTV’s House Hunters), coupons, grocery shopping, my new pen, clean soft pajamas, cooking with Eric, sunshine.