TOP TEN TUESDAY | THANKFUL

It’s not thanksgiving in Canada (we had that back in October), but I felt like I’d like to do this prompt anyway. Though it may seem odd, 2020 has made me feel incredibly thankful for a lot of things I otherwise might have taken for granted. It’s been hard, no doubt about it, but the difficulty level has made simple things seem amazing. So here are some of them.

Being (so far) safe

Every day that I’m not sick I’m grateful. I’ve never been more scared of anything than I am of getting COVID, and I live in dread of my luck running out.

Where I live

I’m also incredibly grateful to live in the part of the world I live in, and to have access to medical care that isn’t (so far, though it’s getting pretty close) completely overrun should I get sick.

Everything we have

With COVID causing so much uncertainty and loss for so many people, I know how lucky I am to have a roof over my head, to be able to take care of my kid every day without loss of income, and to have a partner whose job has been able to transition to work-from-home so far. Sure, it’s still hard, but nowhere near what so many people are dealing with right now.

Being outside

Because of my medical issues I’ve had to spend a large part of the summer stuck inside with the windows closed wearing a mask. It has sucked. So even though we’re now into the cold, rainy 9 or 10 months, being able to open a window or go outside is heaven.

My family

It’s not perfect, but it’s full of people I love. And as much as I’m hating my kid missing out on school (which she loves) and playdates and classes, I am enjoying spending time watching her learn and change.

Books

Okay, so this one is a gimme. But when I stop to think of what I’m thankful for, books are so high on that list that I have to include them, even if it’s a bit obvious. Not only are they providing necessary escape right now, but they’re giving me a lot of other important things as well. Perspective – reading about people who are going through things that are even harder than this is so valuable to me, and helps me remember how lucky I am, even on tough days. Being stuck at home also means that my world has narrowed even further than it already had. Books open that world back up again. With them I can read about places I can’t go, ways of life I can’t experience, and learn what it’s like to be in an entirely different life. And finally, as many of you know, I participated in judging for the BookTube prize for the first time this year. I was nervous about taking that on with all the stress of pandemic life, but it ended up being a solid touchpoint in an ill-defined and ever changing landscape. It was something to focus on that had clear expectations and tasks and a finish line. That was so valuable when every day felt insecure and without a set routine or set of expectations.

TV and movies

I love spending time with my kid, but every single day, usually by myself, is a lot. We’ve started doing “school activities” that I get from two preschool curricula, several books and online and cobble together. It requires a lot of planning and preparation and often ends up with 2 minutes of engagement followed by “I’m bored, Mummy, let’s do a different activity.” Sometimes that happens with all the activities I spent an hour preparing the night before and we’re out in ten minutes, and I’m incredibly frustrated. Anyway, there are a lot of days when I can’t even muster the mental energy to listen to an audiobook, and TV and movies are exactly what I need to mentally decompress since there’s nothing else that seems to help much (I can’t even drink).

Sleep

Another obvious one, but man, there are weeks when sleep is the only time I’m not so stressed I think I’m about to explode. I think if I weren’t a mom, I’d literally sleep for three days straight.

Chocolate

Yup, this totally deserves a spot on the list. You know what I’m talking about. (And if it’s not chocolate, I bet there’s another food that you just can’t live without right now!)

You guys

I’m not the best at comments, and I never have the time to visit other blogs, even though I’d love to. But you guys keep reading what I post, commenting even if it takes me a week to even find a minute to publish the posts let alone reply, and you all take time to respond thoughtfully to whatever I’ve written and share parts of your reading lives. As always, I hope I’ll be able to work out how to do better at interacting, but please know that every time any of you leave a comment it means so much to me. I read every single one, and some weeks they’re the only social interaction I have outside family. So thank you all for still being here, for taking time you guys probably don’t have much of either to share your thoughts. It means the world to me.

That’s it for this week! I hope you are all safe and well, and that you’re finding creative ways to celebrate this year safely. I’d love to hear some of the things you guys are thankful for – particularly anything book related!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.