“It’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood” – as Mr. Rogers used to sing.\u00a0 Memories of childhood.\u00a0 Old TV shows. Happy days.\u00a0 Simpler days.\u00a0 Nostalgia can be pretty powerful.\u00a0 Can bring back all kinds of good feelings.\u00a0 It’s why I wear my Duran Duran t-shirt on a Feel Good Friday, and love to bake those old favourites on the not so good days just to cheer myself up.\u00a0 \u00a0Like the tea biscuits my gramma used to make.\u00a0 I love making those.\u00a0 Warm out of the oven, with butter and jam.\u00a0 Mmmmmmmmm.\u00a0 \u00a0 The BEST.<\/p>\n
I feel like these days when we reference the “old days” it’s before the pandemic.\u00a0 Remember the “old days” when we didn’t have to wear a mask and social distance and we actually went to work in an office?\u00a0Remember when we went out to eat, or sat in a movie theatre?\u00a0 Remember when seeing a crowd didn’t create feelings of excitement AND anxiety in one breath? Remember when we complained about being too busy and having too much to do?\u00a0 Yeah, I miss the good old days too.\u00a0 Or at least I thought I did.\u00a0 Now I’m not so sure.\u00a0 \u00a0I saw a picture\/ meme online that said something about “I never realized how anti-social I was until a pandemic hit and my life didn’t really change”.<\/p>\n
As more things open up, the more I feel like I don’t need things the way I used to think I did.\u00a0 I thought I would be racing to get a hair cut.\u00a0 I’m enjoying letting it grow.\u00a0 First time in my life in decades I haven’t had bangs.\u00a0 I’m not running to get the scrapbook stickers or happy planner stickers I always swore I needed. Nope. Still got drawers of them I haven’t used yet.<\/p>\n
I’ve been back to work – in the office – for a week now.\u00a0 I thought it might be hard to go back, but it was actually really easy.\u00a0 Still a lot of people not IN the office, so it still feels empty.\u00a0 But it sure feels good to come back and sit at my old desk, with my rolling chair and awkward desk that I always seem to hit my shins on when I sit.<\/p>\n
I think we need that routine, that structure.\u00a0 You know what I missed the most?\u00a0 The commute.\u00a0 \u00a0Only 20 minutes, but those 20 minutes in the morning helped get me ready for the workday ahead.\u00a0 Whether it’s cranking the radio, and singing along, windows rolled down on the way to work or letting the quiet of the car ride home at the end of the workday help you sort through and process all that you did that day.\u00a0 It was the commute I have missed.\u00a0 The signal of the beginning of the work day and the end.\u00a0 \u00a0A chance to unwind, distance yourself from the job.\u00a0 Hard to do when your workspace is in your home.\u00a0 At least I had my space separate in my craft room.\u00a0 Some people are still working at their kitchen table, anxious to get back to family dinners.<\/p>\n
Are you back to work?\u00a0 Whether back to the office after working from home, or back to work after being laid off for the last year and a half?\u00a0 How are you adjusting?\u00a0 How are you feeling about everything right now?<\/p>\n
What has changed for you in the last year?\u00a0 What have you realized you can do without?\u00a0 \u00a0What is something you re-discovered about yourself?\u00a0 A hobby you got back into?\u00a0 How has this past year changed YOU?<\/p>\n
On this Feel Good Friday, I realize that my perspective has changed a lot this year.\u00a0 I’ve learned to prioritize things that really matter.<\/p>\n
What makes me Feel GOOD?\u00a0 \u00a0Time with friends and family over time scrolling social media, hoping for some kind of connection.\u00a0 I’ve almost deleted my social media accounts entirely.\u00a0 No more following or friending people I don’t really know or who don’t know me.\u00a0 If this past year has taught me anything, is that is almost more lonely.\u00a0 And there can be so much negativity and judgement online.\u00a0 That stuff damages your spirit and soul.\u00a0 Protect your space.<\/p>\n
What makes me feel good is listening to the music I grew up with.\u00a0 Duran Duran.\u00a0 \u00a080’s music.\u00a0 Full albums. Dancing in the living room when the moment strikes.\u00a0 Laughing at yourself as you do it.<\/p>\n
What makes me feel good is listening to podcasts that inspire.\u00a0 \u00a0Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday is a good one.<\/p>\n
I know the value of good health and have really invested in me this past year.\u00a0 Not always perfect.\u00a0 \u00a0But knowing that only you can take care of you is pretty big.\u00a0 \u00a0Not always giving in to cravings, or stress eating\/ binging.\u00a0 That’s been a challenge.<\/p>\n
I’m back to doing puzzles, and reading books and digging in my garden.\u00a0 Simple things.<\/p>\n
I think what I’ve learned most of all this year is the value in the small things.\u00a0 Those every day moments.\u00a0 \u00a0Put the phone down.\u00a0 Stop taking pictures of everything in the hopes of sharing it online and just BE in the moment.\u00a0 Really soak it all in.\u00a0 \u00a0The beauty of the sunrise\/ sunset.\u00a0 A bunny in the garden.\u00a0 Lots of bunnies, eating all your new veggies and plants.\u00a0 (smile)\u00a0 A deer playing in the field.\u00a0 \u00a0Time just sitting and laughing\/ singing\/ dancing with your kids.\u00a0 Deep conversations.\u00a0 Living life in the moment, instead of for the purpose of posting it online.\u00a0 It changes how you see and feel things.<\/p>\n
Change is in the air.\u00a0 Can you feel it?\u00a0 It feels like hope and change and progress.<\/p>\n
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