msnewleaf

I’m feeling pretty grateful today. Still trapped, of course. We’ve been on lockdown now for soooooooooo long. But also grateful. Grateful that I’m sober another day. Grateful that my mom is still healthy. Grateful that my friends and family are healthy. Grateful that I have a home and a job. Grateful that my cat is snuggled next to me, I’m about to eat some spicy cauliflower for brunch, and my partner is DJing next to me. And it sounds good. He’s not in one of his discordant, experimental sound moods. The lockdown has been pretty good for him. He has been making music like crazy, something he hasn’t been able to do for a long time. When he has too many choices, he has trouble deciding what to do next, but when the options are limited, he blooms. It is so interesting what we are learning about ourselves during this strange, strange time.

I’m also grateful that my massive work project is over, I’ve cleaned my house, and now I can just relax. Plot out my next moves, lockdown-wise. Prepare to help my kid more with homeschooling next week. Make a schedule for regular exercise. Get excited again about my other habit-change projects. For all my talk in earlier posts, I really haven’t successfully maintained my stretching, exercise, meditating projects. Hmmm. I don’t want to be all talk.

I’m trying to psych myself up for the challenge of continuing to move forward while, at the same time, feeling very stuck. But also grateful. Perhaps you can relate.

Love and support to all of you.

xoxo

Leafy

This will be a brief surfacing from my deep pit of work obligations. I meant to write this days ago, but I’ve been too crazy busy to do anything but work most of the time. My partner is home schooling all by himself (poor guy!), and our house is unbelievably disgusting. But, with any luck, I’ll be done with my project tomorrow. Saturday is cleaning day!

Anyway … so have you ever had the experience where you hear about something for the first time, and then soon afterwards, you encounter it again? This happens to me sometimes, and it is so weird.

The other day it happened to me here. I was reading limetwiste’s (Moderately Sober) most recent post, and she offers ” a virtual hug from a distance of at least 2m using fake fur gorilla extending arms,” and I thought: what? Maybe this is a trend I missed in the world, but I had never heard of fake fur gorilla extending arms. But I liked them!

And then, the VERY NEXT MORNING, there was an article in the paper with a photograph of a guy hanging out of his window using a fake fur gorilla extending arm to offer a home-brewed cup of coffee to a passerby! This is our local paper and a local guy doing this, so it seems unlikely that limetwiste had seen it. It must be a thing, and I just don’t know about it. But still! What are the chances? I would post a link to the photo (because it is just so darn cute!), but 1) I am a too much of a grandma and probably wouldn’t do it right, and 2) I don’t know if I can legally or actually share it here on WordPress as it is a subscription-based paper. I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.

xoxo

Ms. New Leaf

Wow! It is such a nice day outside! My bedroom is on the 3rd floor of an old house, and I have a lot of windows on the side facing the yard. And it is sunny, blue sky, with birds chirping and insects buzzing, few car sounds. It is glorious.

My boss just emailed that she’s taking the day off. 😩 but I can’t! Too much work to do. But I’m making a pledge to go for a walk outside at some point today! I’ve been feeling considerably less ok about being locked up here, working away at the computer, climbing the walls at times.

Going outside makes me anxious, though, but I think it has to be done. All masked up and from a safe distance, of course. Somehow, in all this craziness, I’ve forgotten to take care of me. Again.

I’m thinking of all of you, and hoping you are ok.

There’s a giant purple slug that just inched its way into my room. I think there’s an 8-year-old girl in there somewhere. I’m going to investigate!

xoxo

Leafy

Update: Yes, a walk outside was a good thing (although still a little scary because there were a lot of people out – eeek!), but even better was deciding to take the afternoon off and relax. When am I ever going to remember that I have to take time to relax and take care of myself? It always makes everything so much better. And relaxing without alcohol, while once unthinkable, is really the only way to do it right. With booze, I might think I’m relaxed and feel a little euphoric, but it only lasts a bit until I want more, I drink more, and then I feel crappy and, decidedly, NOT relaxed later. NOT refreshed. NOT energetic. NOT ready to take on what is next. Yes, this is better.

Aaaaarrrrrgghhh! It’s day 20 of the lockdown now, and it’s getting to me. Pacing back and forth, I am like a caged animal, too, now. The stress of the homeschooling plus my job plus the regular freak outs my partner goes through on a daily basis is all too much.

Still, I’m OK. We all still love each other, and we are all healthy. All of this is worth it because, so far, my city has successfully “flattened the curve.” Our hospitals are not overrun. My mom’s assisted living place is still virus free (or so they tell us). And it is Spring Break this coming week so NO HOMESCHOOLING!

This is a relief because it turns out that my department at work is responsible for raising about a million dollars in the next 6 weeks so my co-workers don’t get laid off, and we can keep delivering the services our clients need. Oh, you know, no pressure! So, I spent the day cleaning the house and catching up on reading blogs (sorry! I’ve just been treading water over here) to get ready and jump with both feet, out of the plane with a hastily-packed parachute, into next week. Wish me luck!

Much love and support to all of you!

xoxo

Leafy

It’s officially day 12 of the lockdown here, but I’ve been in the house/remotely working even longer (17 days, I think). We are a little cranky and prone to bickering a bit, but it’s not that bad considering. Nothing serious. The lockdown is easier for me than for my partner because I am generally happy being a homebody. I mean, I like going hiking or to a restaurant or a movie. Don’t get me wrong. But I can putter around all day in the house no problem. He cannot. He is like a caged animal, arguing regularly that it is OK if WE go to a (closed to the public, mind you, because people were crowding all of the outdoor spaces last weekend) park because no one else will be there now. Like we have some kind of special hall pass that no one else has. Give me a break! On the plus side, we have worked out a pretty decent division of labor with the homeschooling, so I have been able to work a bit more. I’ve learned that I can disinfect with 3% hydrogen peroxide (since all of the disinfectant wipes and spray seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth). And my mom is fairly happy and still healthy. Hooray!

It’s also day 15 of my second 100-day period with no booze. It’s going fine. Occasionally, I really want to order some delivery wine when something stressful happens (like learning we really do have to complete some hideously difficult assignment for my daughter’s school that we thought we could ditch). There was one night where the desire to escape this way was strong, but in the morning, it was gone as usual. And, also as usual, I was glad I didn’t drink.

Oh, and as a follow-up to my last post, it sounds like we are turning a giant convention center here into a homeless shelter where there will be supportive services, and it is so big that the beds can all be 6 feet apart. And we are putting those that need quarantine in one of the thousands of empty hotel rooms, perhaps. This seems to be the plan at least. I really hope it works.

I hope all of you are well, and stay safe!

xoxo,

Ms. New Leaf

It’s the little things that are getting me through this lockdown. Eating chocolate. Making a chickpea curry. Teaching my daughter to write a paragraph with a topic sentence and supporting sentences. Being OK with my daughter and my partner playing too much Super Mario Odyssey because it gives them so much joy. Organizing my pantry. Talking to my mom on the phone and realizing anew how tough she is. Wearing the most comfortable sweatpants all of the time. And being grateful that I’m not drinking.

Drinking would make everything so much worse right now. How would I get enough? We can order wine (and, incredibly, mixed drinks) to be delivered here, but I am sure it is insanely expensive. Do I think about it? Sure, but then I think that it would be incredibly hard to homeschool my daughter with a hangover. I don’t think I could actually do it.

For me, homeschooling is the hardest part of this so far. Knock on wood. My kid’s teachers are attempting to recreate the entire school experience and activities online, and it is impossible to get through all of it. Actually impossible. They say they understand that, but I know they really want us to do it if we can. Which I can’t. Somehow, I know there are other mothers, with always-eager-to-learn children, doing it all out there somewhere (sigh), but I’m trying not to think about that too much. Oh, and did I say that I’m ALSO supposed to work from home? Thank goodness for my understanding boss.

But enough complaining! I’m incredibly lucky.

What is really hard about all of this is knowing how many people are not as lucky as I am. We have thousands of people experiencing homelessness in our city. The city is making an effort to get everyone sheltered inside, but there’s no way it is actually going to happen (and makes one wonder why the daily horror of people sleeping on the street wasn’t enough to make these efforts earlier). Even if we were successful at sheltering everyone, people that aren’t obviously sick are going to be crammed together in shelter spaces by the hundreds. Not a good plan. A lot of people are going to die, I think, because we live in this fucked up dog-eat-dog economic system (I can’t even call it capitalism because we all know who gets the bailouts) where a few have more than anyone should ever have, and to hell with the rest. And what is going to happen now that so many have been laid off?

Yes, it is heartening that many are helping each other in this time of crisis. But, I can’t help wondering if some of the folks that are volunteering to go shopping for seniors are the same people that make nasty, heartless comments online about people without homes living on our streets. Because, in their heart of hearts, they think some people are more worthy of help than others.

Or, maybe so many kind people are always there, but in regular times, their voices are drowned out. I would love it if, somehow, the silver lining in this is that we make a long-term shift to a system that doesn’t let children go uneducated, everyone has quality healthcare, and housing is a basic human right. We’ll see.

I live in an area that is now pretty much in lockdown. We have been ordered to stay in our homes, and we are not allowed to leave except to buy groceries, go to the doctor, or other very basic activities. We must work from home or not work (unless we work in an “essential” industry). We can take a walk, but only if we stay 6 feet away from anyone we do not live with.

I believe this is the right thing to do. To save lives, we have to do this. I haven’t seen my 85-year-old mother in weeks, but it has to be that way. We send each other emails about what’s happening every day. Yesterday, they stopped the communal activities they do at the assisted living facility she lives in. Super scary. We have the phone, thank heavens, but I’m worried she is going to be terribly lonely.

It is allergy season, and I’ve got symptoms. No fever so I assume it isn’t COVID-19, but it still makes me a little nervous now and then. I’ve been taking more precautions than most for a few weeks now because of my pre-existing conditions, but others in my household have gone about their business fairly normally. It makes me nervous what the next two weeks could bring, but there’s nothing to be done about it.

Despite this, I feel very lucky. I can work from home. I have a home. My employer is (at least for now) paying me my full hours even though they know I will have to home school my kid for several of them every day. We can order groceries and medications, and have them delivered. My kid’s school seems to have a robust online learning plan. Children are not terribly at risk from the virus. I have enough toilet paper (I can not believe what people have been hoarding!). My neighbors and their child live in the same house we do so we can visit with them and not go crazy. We have a backyard. I am not drinking alcohol, nor am I addicted to tobacco or other drugs. These are all very good things.

Stay safe, everyone, wherever you are! Virtual hugs to all.

xoxo

Ms. NL

(AKA Leafy)

A week ago, I very deliberately decided to experiment with drinking alcohol. I was taking my friend to an extravagant birthday dinner where martinis are the usual first order of the night, and I decided to see what it would be like. So … here’s what happened: it was just OK. It was an underwhelming experience. I was expecting to really enjoy it, but the truth was that I didn’t feel like it added much to the evening. And I was tired the next day, which I did not like. So, I got back on the sober train in the morning, and I thought, “Well, now I know what that is like.” I planned to blog about it this weekend, with a week’s worth of sober days under my belt, so that I could feel feel strong and reflective when I wrote about it.

THEN, in the afternoon of the day after, I started to have that familiar feeling. You know, the thought that keeps coming around that some wine would be a good idea. And I had to resist it, just a little, to not drink. I didn’t drink the rest of the week, but then, for some reason, I decided to try again with some wine last night. Again, the same: not that great. Although I didn’t think it was going to be a problem to stay on the sober train for a good long while after the first experiment, that wasn’t true. Last night, my drinking was impulsive, not deliberate, and I see this slippery slope for what it is. I’m now writing it down so, hopefully, I won’t forget.

I need to make another commitment to not drink. I can’t say forever. I wish that I was at the point of surrender so beautifully described by my friend, Collette (gr8ful_collette, Wine to Water), in her reflection on one year sober. But, I’m not. I know that I’m not in a place where I just know with certainty that I can never drink again.

I did learn something from my 100 plus days of sobriety, though. I like not drinking. I like feeling clear in the mornings. I like being connected to all of the really lovely people in this sober community. And I was just starting to learn more when I decided to briefly jump off the train. Most importantly, I do know with certainty that if I don’t make another commitment now, I’ll keep going until the train is going so fast I can’t get back on.

I’m not going to drink today or for the next 100 days at the very least. That’s the best I can do right now. I wanted to say six months, but it was too scary. It immediately made me feel like I should drink again tonight to get it out of my system. That sounds terrible, I know, but it is the honest truth.

I hope that by sharing this experience, it might help someone else who is considering jumping off the train.

xoxo

Ms. New Leaf (AKA Leafy)

At the suggestion of some of my blogging friends, I decided to start doing some reading on habit change. I plan to read many more books on the subject (including the ones recommended), but I started with Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit as it was the one at the top of every book list on the subject. I haven’t finished it yet, but it is interesting so far. The idea that if we keep the same habit cue and habit reward, but change the routine (the habit you want to change) AND believe we can change, we can in fact change the habit, makes sense. I think this is why Holly Whitaker’s approach in Quit Like a Woman works for her. She describes this particularly well when she talks about her substitute evening routine. The cue: wine o’clock, the new routine: other relaxing things like a bath, music, etc., the reward: relaxation at the end of the day.

One thing that also makes sense to me is the idea of focusing on one habit change at a time. It always SOUNDS like a good idea to quit alcohol; quit sugar; eat only whole foods with 8 servings of fruit and vegetables a day; drink 8-10 glasses of water; do cardio 3 x a week, yoga 2x a week, and strength train 2 times a week; stretch every day; write in the gratitude journal; write the morning pages; meditate every day; etc. all at once as one big fell-swoop lifestyle change that will make you into the best version you could possibly be of yourself in as little time as possible. (Whew!) But COME ON! There’s no way I can do all of that unless I am actually at some wellness retreat where all of this is enforced every day (and there’s nothing else you have to do). And I have thousands and thousands of dollars do to it. Otherwise, on my own, I will just get overwhelmed and throw in the towel.

Yes, one big habit at a time for me, I think, with getting the other things in as I can. The last two weeks, I have been just simply trying to get more basic exercise in, and I’ve walked home from work (about 40-45 minutes) and stretched three or four times each week. Nothing crazy, but I also don’t want to injure myself so I’m starting small.

We will see where this goes. Love and support to you all!