Oh my gosh, I can’t with the list this month. I mean I had to think about what month we were even in. Where am I and who am I?

But here goes. The March list.

1) Michigan schools shut down officially on March 13, and the Stay at Home order came on March 24, though we were already self-quarantined by then.
2) We’ve been washing fruit with soap. Once I washed an onion with soap. Not a good idea. Too soggy.

3) I made my last Trader Joe’s run the third week of March. We’re now doing delivery only. I’m very sad not to be able to have my affordable Trader Joe’s favorites (coconut smoothies, cheese crackers, organic butter), but grateful that local grocery stores continue to deliver. For now. Everything is wiped down and sanitized.

4) I’m so thankful for our collection of board games. We’ve played multiple games of Scrabble, Monopoly, Sorry, Clue and Dominoes (not really a board game, but it counts). The little one is getting slightly better at losing.

5) And I’m so thankful for my recent jigsaw puzzle order. To decompress, I work on puzzles while listening to podcasts. And if it’s after 5pm, I add a cocktail to the mix.

6) Podcasts I started and completed this month. “S-town” was fantastic. “Cold” and “Up and Vanished” were pretty good, but not fantastic.

7) We haven’t been doing takeout, so I have been cooking, cooking, cooking. Comfort food (noodles, pasta, bread, desserts) is what’s been happening in our house. Now is when I’m supposed to say how grateful I am for being able to cook every day for my family. Namaste.

8)  It’s spring! Birds are making nests in their usual spots (our juniper tree near our front porch and smaller evergreen in our backyard) and buds are showing up. A sign of newness and hope that is so greatly needed.

9)  My husband took down the chain link fence that has hurt my eyes since the day we moved in. Beyond thrilled. Beyond.

10)  I’ve watched some terrible (aka awesome) TV and some great (aka intelligent) TV.  The ABC Murders was a surprising favorite. I love a good British murder mystery, but this one was unexpectedly dark. John Malkovich is so good per usual and the lighting, camera direction, whatever it is called, was artistic and beautiful.

11)  Chores must go on. This one helped me deep clean the bathroom.

12)  A fire in the backyard is a springtime must. We are stressed, anxious, tired, weirded out, uncertain. But there have been small pockets of time where we’ve lived in the present and life was good. Here’s to more of those pockets, for us and for you.

Happy April. Be safe and well.