What a busy, hard, weird week-and-a-half it’s been.

To be fair, though, it’s been a busy, hard, weird month. And to be even more fair, it’s been a busy, hard, weird couple of years. 

Last week I got through each day and was happy to call that good enough. Even some stuff I’ve been looking forward to for a while ended up being stressful, and writing – even about gratitude – didn’t make it into my daily routine. Really, it should have been a priority. Expressing gratitude, especially during difficult times, is a fantastic way to help foster a healthy mindset.

Back at it now, though. Let’s see what we’ve got …

1.
I’m writing.

Like I said, this is an important thing to do for my wellbeing. Right now I’m tired, anxious about tomorrow, and have a bit of a headache. But I’m doing this.

I’m grateful to myself for making the healthy choice.

2.
A couple weeks ago I was walking through our kitchen and discovered a stunning beauty staring up at me from a placemat on the table.

Dark eyes, rosy cheeks, full lips. A face that took my breath away.

Not because of its loveliness, but because of what it signified.

My wife Alison is an incredible artist, and when she is able to create, it’s a truly wonderful thing. The face looking up at me from the tabletop was a piece for one of her art dolls, and that meant Alison was creating. 

The pandemic and its fallout have taken their tolls on both of us in many ways, but one of the biggest is the way it’s made our creative passions less accessible. We’re both making progress, though, and seeing that cloth visage made my heart sing.

The dolls Alison makes are wholly her own. She designs and crafts the bodies, faces, and clothing herself. They’re nothing short of amazing.

Alison’s art is an extension of who she is, and I love it nearly as much as I love her. When she creates, that means there’s more of her to love. I’ll always be grateful for that.

3.
My youngest son has a July birthday. He lives in New Hampshire with his mom, and for most of the pandemic, our time together was virtual. So was his schooling last year. He handled it all like the incredible human he is, and I wanted to do something special for his seventeenth birthday.

In a bit of good timing, tickets for Mystery Science Theater 3000’s new live tour went on sale right around that time. I splurged and got us VIP tickets for one of the Boston shows in November.

“Surely by then things won’t be so bad with the pandemic,” I said, making one of the most inaccurate statements ever.

We went to the Wilbur Theater this past Thursday night. We spend the earlier part of the day in Salem, which ended up being one of the places I’ve felt safest in the past couple of years, thanks to the city’s strict mask mandate. It was a far cry from our breakfast in Wilmington, where we were openly mocked by a couple of customers for wearing face masks.

Problems aside, we had a fantastic time at the show. The VIP package got us a Q&A and photos with the cast, along with a sweet swag bag that had a couple of really nice gifts inside. And the movie that was riffed – Making Contact – was gloriously terrible. My son and I laughed harder than we had in a while, and the joy of the show made the ride home go by quickly. 

I don’t think I’ll be indulging in any other crowd-based events for a while, given the way things are going with COVID and the anxiety I had leading up to the show, but I’m grateful that we went and had that time together.

I hope we’ll do it again, maybe in the not too distant future …