Things that help

“I’m good, in this moment,” Carolyn said, when I called her today to tell her that I was sad. We all have sad moments, and then an hour later we’re happy again. And then sad again an hour after that. I usually have sad moments on Saturdays and she reminded me of that, and that helped. “Oh yeah, Saturdays are my hard days, I forgot.”

Talking to friends always helps, so talking to Carolyn helped. I came up on this majestic beauty when I was talking to her, so I took a picture of it because nature helps.

After we got off the phone I secured my face mask (that she made me, in fact), and having a mask that I love that fits my face helps.

Then I walked for about an hour, and that always helps too. Where I live, one of the streets dead ends on both ends, with about 10 blocks of tree-lined, car-free (mostly, these days) neighborhood in between. Living by this street helps.

This street has become less like a street and more like a walking path, where people walk to one end and then walk back to the other end, on the sidewalk and in the street, on repeat.

Tonight I walked past a house where two were people sitting on a porch, watching the people walk by. We waved and said hi to each other. I didn’t have sunglasses on so my eyes were visible, but I promised myself the next time I smiled at someone from behind a mask, I’d tell them I was smiling.

“I’m smiling,” I said, “but you can’t tell.” The woman smiled back and said, “I can tell.” And for some reason, that helped the most.