Silver Linings – 5 Random Things

Things are undoubtedly dismal in the world right now, with the whole range of issues due to COVID-19 pandemic/job losses/stuck at home/political drama, etc.

I’m going to ignore all the bad for a few minutes, and I hope you’ll join me.

I’m choosing to focus on the good, so these are my silver linings as of lately:

1. Flowers: The upside to having a hubby who’s laid off–he takes excellent care of the house, the kids, and the garden! We’ve planted lots of new things, like Dragon’s Breath celosia, irises, clematises, and Easter lilies. A veggie garden is coming next!

   

   

   

   

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   Books: I’ve been a reading fool, after taking about a decade off from reading (wish I was joking but I’m not!) I’ve found that reading has been much more enjoyable than watching Netflex, for me. Here’s the books I’ve finished lately, and I recommend all of them:

   1. Before we were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Historical fiction; sad; appalling; mysterious; overall enjoyable.
   2. In Pursuit of Endurance by Jennifer Pharr Davis.
   3. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
   4. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (now to watch this on Hulu!)
   5. Next up: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (another of his books, “Into the Wild,” is shown below)

      

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   More Outside Time: After dinner every night, J teaches Asher to play baseball, so I’ve enjoyed playing “outfielder” with them. Since we’re all at home a lot more, this has been a welcome change of pace–we usually just watch TV or chill after dinner. It’s nice to get even more fresh air, and watch his budding athleticism. Gabe is really into basketball, so we’ll play PIG or HORSE, or pick a random animal like PANDA or GOAT. On my birthday, we played B-DAY. We’ve been doing a little hike every weekend. I also enjoy watching them play on the trampoline.

   

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   Berlin: I found out last week that I got a charity slot to Berlin–one of my bucket list races!! I am completely PUMPED and actually feel ready to start taking on the marathon distance again. It’s been since 2012. I’ve been afraid to run long, due to tummy troubles, not enough time/energy, and/or boredom (that’s a lot of time to talk to oneself or listen to music… might have to get some podcasts going!) But since I ran well for my virtual 10K, and recovered quickly too, I think I can actually do it this year. And my desire to qualify for Boston, which I originally put into words in 2015, is still burning bright. However, I’ve already told myself, Berlin is not going to be a quest for a fast time at the expense of everything else. Berlin is to run joyfully and run strong, for the charity I’m representing, Team Homes for our Troops. To donate, click here. All donations are truly appreciated!! My plan is to do a 9 week half marathon plan, take a week off to climb mountains (if things are open by June), and train for 11 weeks on this marathon plan until Berlin. And foam rolling! I am committing to finally foam rolling and strength training, I need it now more than ever! UPDATE: Since I am slow, and I wrote this last week but didn’t have my photos ready so I didn’t hit “Publish”, the Berlin Marathon is cancelled. I understand it’s a huge group of people and therefore a huge risk for spreading infections… but I am still disappointed and sad. Still trying to find the silver lining on this one! I suppose instead of visiting Germany, we can finally go to Norway? It’s not the end of the world, but yeah… struggling a bit on this one.

   

5. Front porch pictures. I thought of this, then realized it was already a “thing” on Instagram. I took front porch family pics (from an acceptable distance, of course) for 4 of my neighbors last week. A fellow photographer, one of ours friends/neighbors, took photos of us too. She did a great job! 🙂

What are your silver linings right now?