These lists are killing me. The whole get dressed. Do this at 9 am. I’m just not there yet. I hope I will get there, but I’m just not. I am too trying to get things to break up the day for my kids. Truthfully I don't know if I am excelling. I am surviving. Sometimes I go on social media, and I’m like guess what? I am not an end of the world expert, and I feel like a failure at all of these suggestions. My kids are not hitting things on a list at certain times. The first two days of the quarantine, I survived on a diet of Tylenol, salmon, and NyQuil. I mean what list is that on? I’ll tel you what 9am looks like? Me, grateful that my kids have not figured out that this is “Lord of the flies” and that they are not running around our yard with my head on a stick!
Then, I think of this book I read when I was a teenager, it was called “Slowing down to the speed of life”. In someways, I am proud of just that. I am proud my kids are not paralyzed with fear in the corner, or have my head on a stick. I am proud we get outside. I am proud there is food on the table. Turkey sandwiches every single day for lunch. And they are not questioning it? Amazing. They will soon. Kids question everything especially food.
I take them on drives and give them a lesson in music. Van Morrison one day, Janis Joplin the next. then my daughter Olive, who’s nickname is “DJ bear bear”, grabs the phone and blasts Billie Eilish, and I’m like yeah!!!!!! I am so in love with Billie! Hey, did you know billie and her brother recorded their whole album, (which happens to be like the most important album in years, they recored its in their house?! very corona virus savvy! and a great example of how we can do things differently)
I love that the world is going to be forced to see that air quality is better and dolphins are now cruising the Venice canals again fr the first time in ?????? and I love Venice! it is simply the best. One of my very favorite places. It’s a marvel and yet I see it screaming for change. When I went there when I was a kid it was not thriving either. So I got conditioned into thinking Venice is sick environmentally. But its not. its us. but, we could do things a different way. we could not pull cruise ships into the harbor, and we could limit the way people travel into it. we could monitor how it all functions. and we could do this with so many things!!!!!!! Venice has become my beacon of change. It’s a symbol for me. As is the billie eilish album. And slowing down to the speed of life. And turkey sandwiches for lunch. And not trying to “slay the day”. On my list today is not to freak out. If I can do that, well, then I check that simple little box. Just live. It doesn’t have to look a certain way. It doesn’t have to function by the hour. It just has to be slow and patient. Maybe we will ride our bikes. Take a drive. Play music. Maybe I will try to set up Olive with some paints on the lawn, like she is Van Gogh. At the end of the day, I will see what we did, and that will be our list. We will have checked it. We won’t tell anyone or prescribe what the day should be for you. You get to do that for yourself and without judgment from us.
