The Books of 2023

I Passed My Reading Goals for 2023

It was a weird year, but not a bad year for reading. I certainly had ups and downs, sometimes I just could not focus on reading anything in print so I relied heavily on audiobooks. Six of the 74 books I read were re-reads. I mostly stuck to fiction, but did read 12 non-fiction books. I read across many different genres, but fantasy took the lead with 34 books. I read some books with friends (one in London, one in Tennessee) based on a Nashville bookstore's reading challenge. I read other books with friends in my local book group. I completed the Popsugar Reading Challenge for the year.

I love books. I love going to the library. I love getting free kindle first reads. I love logging my reading on Goodreads and StoryGraph. I love talking about books with friends and reading books that friends share with me. I don't watch a lot of tv or movies. I escape into books. 

Apparently I like to read adventurous, emotional, dark, and mysterious books. 

Here are a few of my very favorite reads from the year:

• This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel - My first read of 2023 and I still think of it from time to time. The family connection, the struggle, the acceptance, and the love. A well written heartwarming story. 
• Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson - Lighthearted, silly, adventurous, with the character development and storytelling I've come to expect from Sanderson. If you read anything from my list, read this one. Please. 
• Hail Mary by Andy Weir - A reread for me, but I just have to mention it again because the audiobook version of this tale is so very good. 
• The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell - Beautiful storytelling! Historical fiction set in Renaissance Florence following a daughter in the Medici family. 
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - A story that shines a light on the people surviving institutional poverty, the foster system, and our present day opioid crisis with lovable characters that I keep thinking about weeks later. A heavy topic presented in a way that is truly beautiful. 
• Belladonna and Foxglove by Adalyn Grace - Murder mystery ghost story type fairytales with fun characters and plot twists. Not too heavy, easy to digest tales. I just really loved the audiobooks of these. 

All of the books, in reverse order to how I read them...

Did you read any books in 2023? Any recommendations for me? What books or stories do you love?

I'm hoping 2024 brings me many happy hours with books for company, and I hope your new year is filled with the hobbies that bring you joy and relaxation. :) 

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*Currently Reading: A Power Unbound by Freya Marks (audiobook) & slowly working my way through The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (paperback)

No No November

There are only four days left in my favorite month. November really flew by in a blur.

First, some good parts: 

The kids and I attended a Dia de los Muertos celebration at our local library. I went to book group with friends. I celebrated my birthday and my friends made me feel special. I bought myself a boxed set of Jane Austen novels with birthday money from my extended family. I went to the movie theater to watch The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes with another mom and a bunch of middle schoolers. We had a lovely Thanksgiving at home with family and good food. Yesterday we celebrated friends at fun birthday parties.

Before the bad parts, let me introduce myself:

Hi, my name is Sarah and I care a lot. I think that's why I have built the life I live. I am primarily a parent, the organizer of and caregiver within my home. My career in veterinary medicine has always been about caring for others. My brief detour as an elementary school educator was also rooted in my desire to care for others and help them grow. 

Caring a lot is what I do. Also, I worry. 

I'm really skilled at waking up in the middle of the night and thinking about what will happen in the future. I can stay awake in the wee hours planning what I will do to make a scenario run smoothly the next day. Sometimes I can't plan my way around a situation, so I just imagine all of the possible outcomes and get nauseous. 

So, you can probably imagine how I was doing when October ended with a family member in the hospital. He was quickly diagnosed with several health issues, including a cancer called Multiple Myeloma. He's doing okay and is home now, but he is weak, fatigued, and well... fighting cancer. Thankfully, this particular type of cancer responds well to treatment, so hopefully it goes away fast. He lives around the corner from us, so my husband and I have been walking over there daily to visit him and offer any help we can. Also, because I'm a medical professional who is very skilled at caring and worrying, I really want to get involved in any way I can to make his medical experience less stressful and more successful. I'm helping him stay organized, I'm explaining things when his care teams fall short, and I'm giving lots of hugs. And sometimes, afterwards, I go home and cry. 

Next up in Bad News November, my dog has cancer. It's lymphoma. It can go into remission with treatment, but it always comes back. It kills dogs quickly. Thankfully, Myrtle feels well, is still extremely happy, pain free, and doing really well on steroids. However, we likely only have a couple of months together. We could have chosen to treat with chemo to buy an extra year or so of time, but that won't work very well for our lives right now. So, sometimes I lie awake at night and become increasingly nauseous. It's okay, I guess. 

November, November. You have hurt my heart this year. 

Guilt for Resting + 504x2

Springtime finally showed up! Yay! Also, Boo! It's too hot in the afternoons, my cork oak tree is pooping pollen everywhere, and my allergies are trying to kill me. I know that I will survive, but I also plan to spend time hiding indoors for the next week or two. That means my messy yard will just have to stay messy for a little while longer.  It's fine, I'm just feeling self-imposed, overachiever guilt associated with not getting my yard work done in a timely manner. 

Inhale. Exhale. Let it go.

In other Type-A, "Gift Child, Anxious Adult" news: I'm trying to rest this week. Last week was busy with my usual chaotic/stressful work, overtime associated with my usual chaotic/stressful work and working from home. It left me feeling like a zombie. So this week, in addition to avoiding outdoor chores that make me sneeze while my eyes itch and water, I am also NOT taking on more work inside my house. I'll still do my usual everything, but instead of cleaning the oven or mopping, or something extra special, I'm going to sit on my couch and take a virtual class for ME. I'm going to lie in the sun and read a book -but only for 20 minutes because it is hot out there and my pale skin will burn to a crisp- for myself. I'm going to sit here and compose this blog because writing makes me happy.

It's hard though, because I feel guilty for not doing something else... something that feels more like work.

Gah.

I'm trying to teach my kids that it's okay to rest. I think one of them gets it, the other one got my neuroses.  

I had a meeting at the school today. Now both of my kiddos have 504 Plans and accommodations in place to help them be successful students. It's not that I need them to be perfect students or anything, I just need them to feel good about themselves while they are in school. I don't want either of my kids to feel like they are dumb or failures for struggling in a classroom setting. Hence the 504s to provide some protections so they can be successful little unicorns in a system that wasn't made with individuality in mind.

Still, I'm grateful that children with certain health diagnoses that affect their experience in general education are entitled to accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Did you know the freaking ADA wasn't even a law until 1990? It only took 214 years of our nation's existence to guarantee equal access to public places, public schools, and employment to disabled citizens. America is such a shit show. I'm glad the ADA exists now. Better late than never, I guess?

This society is good at cranking out little workers for capitalism and leaving behind anyone who doesn't fit the mold perfectly. That's probably why I feel so wrong sitting on my couch for an hour in the middle of a Wednesday. 

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Currently Reading: In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune and Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell (on audiobook)

Independence?

Today I went to the store without my phone. ON PURPOSE. 

I needed to go out for two items. (One was out of stock when I was shopping across town yesterday, and I completely forgot to purchase the other item. Oops.) The closest store is located exactly half a mile from my house. I could have driven there in three minutes but decided to walk because it is lovely out today, I wanted to get outside and move, and I had plenty of time. My phone was (and still is) charging and I thought to myself, "Self, what if we just left the phone here to charge?" Before me and myself could start debating it too heavily, I grabbed my keys, sunglasses, an insulated bag, and I walked out the door. 

Post-Walk Selfie. It's still plugged in. 

I was gone a total of 25 minutes. 

I spent the first three convinced that one of my children would end up in the school nurse's office with a broken limb or a volatile stomach virus. They would call me, then worry when I failed to answer the phone. Then my husband or parents would receive a phone call -being next in line on the emergency contact list- and they would worry as to why I didn't answer my child's call. People would be upset at me for being out of reach!

After a deep breath, I convinced myself that I could be away from my phone for half an hour. People go that long without answering their phones during important meetings or when they are bathing, right? My parents parented without constantly being accessible by phone, as did their parents before them, and so on and so on, and humanity has survived up to this point. Surely, I can take a quick trip to the store without the world crumbling down around me. 

So I walked -quickly- and made sure to empty my brain of extra thoughts and instead pay attention to the world around me. I noticed the trees, some very dormant, some beginning to think about waking up as if Winter is over. I smiled through a window at a dog sunning itself on the back of a couch. I appreciated the cool air and the warm sun and the feel of my feet on the pavement. I felt happy. 

Then I purchased my two items (sliced cheese and Italian sausage, if you must know) and walked back home. 

And you know what? I didn't miss a single call. Not even a robot telling me my non-existent car loan payment was overdue. 

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Currently Reading: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson and Why We Can't Wait by MLK Jr. (on audiobook)

Attempt Numero Uno

Last year I wrote a whopping TWO blog posts. This year I am attempting to do a little more writing. However, I'm pretty sure I say something along those lines every single new year, so... we shall see how it all pans out. Part of me thinks that my writing should be kept to myself; maybe it should just be tucked away in a folder on my hard drive, or maybe this entire blog should be changed from public to private. Another part of me thinks, no. Naw. Nope. So here I am.

Reflecting on last year... I can tell you I didn't write much because I haven't had anything new to say. Life has been still, routine, simple, and mostly pleasant. The feelings and upsets that have ruffled my feathers the past couple of years have been of a rather personal nature. While I don't mind sharing some of those stories and troubles, they aren't only mine to tell, so I keep my typing fingers quiet. I stew in my personal soup of frustration, discontent, and general feelings of resentment in private, like a damn grownup. I also verbally vomit on all of my friends. (Sorry friends.)

The Books of 2022

I enjoy reading. It makes me happy, is an escape from reality, and sometimes teaches me new information or different ways of thinking. 

This year I consumed a total of 58 books! 36 of which were audiobooks, so 22 were read with my eyeballs. 

I'll post photos below. It's been a good year for reading. I highly recommend: 

- The Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin

- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

- Project Hail Mary (ON AUDIOBOOK!) by Andy Weir

- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

- All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

- everything by V.E. Schwab

Here's to more reading in 2023! There are a lot of new books I'm looking forward to, and many books from past years that I'm excited to finally read.

My first audiobook of 2023 was This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel and I loved it. I'm in the middle of reading the hardback of The Honeys by Ryan La Sala and am enjoying that, too. 

What are you reading?

A Day In The Life of a Part-Time Stay-At-Home Mom

The kids started a new school year yesterday! I could rant about the teacher shortage and my overall displeasure with the current situation at their school. I could celebrate the fact that both kids had a good first day and happily reconnected with friends. But I'm not going to write about those things. Instead, I am going to give you the peek into my daily life that you never requested. 

Master of My Domain: The Empty House!

This morning started as usual. I probably snoozed my alarm once, got up, got dressed, made my bed, and turned off the porch light. The dog followed me around and I tried to keep her wagging tail from hitting any walls because "Shhh! The kids are still sleeping!" Said kids got up shortly after me. One of them got dressed, packed their backpack, ate their breakfast, washed their dishes, and even helped me with a few things, easy-peasy. The other kid got up, dug around in their too-dark bedroom for a specific Lego or two, received multiple redirections and statements from me, then finally made it to the table for breakfast.

I went outside to feed the dog, fed the indoor cats, then went into my backyard to feed the outdoor cats and water the garden. Upon returning to the kitchen, I discovered that the second aforementioned child was no longer at the table. That's when my awesome mom/former teacher brain came up with the genius idea of comparing our morning routine to a video game. 

Me: "You cannot leave this room until you have completed every task within it. Then you can move to the next level of the Morning Game."

Child: "But most games I can leave the room and just walk out the door."

Me: "Yes, but then you don't beat the level. In the Morning Game, you need to do all the little side-quests and earn more points in the kitchen before moving to the living room."

I think I won that discussion. The kid kept "earning coins" and asking me what prize they got for finishing the cereal, and whatnot. I explained the the prize is finishing the cereal and getting to wash the bowl, before packing the lunch and exiting the kitchen level. Very exciting, I know, but it seemed to work. 

This is my life. 

The kids and I eventually walked out the door. 

I brought the dog and we split from the kids at a corner; they headed to school while the pup and I continued in a different direction. I walked about a mile and half and talked to my mommy on the phone the entire time. This is a morning tradition that went away when my kids were home all summer and we slept in more often. I'm glad to get back into this routine because walking in the mornings makes my heart happy. 

I came home and did some yoga (because yoga also makes my heart happy), took a shower, set my robot to vacuum, called a rental place about a family reunion trip next summer, then left to meet some of my best friends for food. Next time you want brunch in my town and it happens to be a Wednesday when the yummy downtown bakeries are closed, I suggest you go to the cafe at the library for a delicious little meal and coffee. I had avocado toast and a fancy latte because I'm a millennial, but there are also many choices available for you non-millennials. 

After that visit and delicious meal, I made a stop at a local cemetery because it's August 24th and that's what I have been doing on August 24th for 18 years now. My friend Dawnette was 19 years old when she died by suicide 19 years ago. She was just a kid. We were just a bunch of kids. So here is my biannual reminder (I get this way on her birthday, too, so watch out.) that you matter. Yes, you! Even with your depression, drug addiction, or suicidal thoughts... you matter so much. Thank you for surviving through those dark days and being here today. Please stay here on this planet with me tomorrow. I know mental healthcare is a shit show, but I urge you to reach out and get help if you're struggling. 

Oof. Heavy. Sorry. Just be glad you weren't at the cemetery earlier to witness me suddenly bursting into tears. 

After checking my eyeliner, I went to Target to return some back to school purchases that were the wrong size (ten year old bean pole problems) or the wrong style ('tween problems). I also bought deodorant. Then I came home thinking I would sit and read for a bit because I still had an hour before school got out, and reading makes my heart happy. Instead I cleaned the toilet. That's right! Mom's first day of a quiet, empty house at the start of a new school year and she cleans. the. toilet. 

I also reset all of the alarms on my phone to remind me to pick my children up from school. Alarms are my best friends. 

And now I'm here. Not reading, but I am writing, because writing also makes my heart happy. 

What are you going to do to make your heart happy today?

Well Well Well

This is my first blog post in 2022. 
This is my first blog post in 2022?!?!?

It's already the end of July. What the hell have I been doing with my time? 

I. Have. No. Idea. 

Really. I don't. Maybe my brains are broken because we're 2.25 years into a global pandemic that won't go away (because people don't seem to understand concepts around public health) and every day for the past 821 days feels like The Song That Never Ends. Who knows what I've been up to? Who even knows what day it is, or what year for that matter?!?

The entirety of 2022 has been an interesting time at work. The vet practice is under new ownership! It has been very exciting to watch my old-friend-turned-new-boss put many of her great ideas into motion. Our office is growing and changing in awesome ways, but all of the changes have created many stressful days at work. Painting and remodeling meant there were weeks when things were moved around hectically and it was difficult to find what I needed when I needed it. Upgrades in technology have meant learning new phone systems and computer programs, which made me feel slow and inefficient until I got the hang of things. We're going through another learning curve right now with new computer software, and we're ironing out the wrinkles as we find them. It will all be great when we're efficiently using these new tools, but at the moment... I'm exhausted. I dream about work when I'm asleep at night. I worry about work when I'm lying awake at night. 

Here are some fun things (that are not work) that have broken up the monotony of my life in 2022 so far: Day trips to the beach, kid sleepovers and middle school drama, an anniversary weekend in Napa, pet-sitting multiple times for various people, visits with friends from out of town, food and drinks with amazing coworkers, Book Group with my ExMormon ladies, playing D&D with dearest friends, going on walks with my dog, friend-dates, talking on the phone with my mama, getting a third piercing on each earlobe. 

Lots of little things have happened this year, but nothing that necessitates an entire blog post.

Truthfully, I haven't been writing here because I'm still smack dab in the middle of complex stories that aren't only mine to tell. I shouldn't write about the complexities of parenting a kid who is exploring their identity as a member of a marginalized community while the story is still unfolding and the main character isn't me. I shouldn't write about the difficulties of navigating a marriage with someone who holds values opposite to mine because the plot is still unraveling and the relationship is still evolving and some people (Not me, obviously. Ha!) don't want all of their dirty laundry aired publicly on the internet.

Whatever the reasons that I haven't written, the important thing is that I am writing right now. Hopefully I'll have something else to write about again, soon.

(Thanks, Candace, for mentioning this blog and inspiring me to add to it a little bit.)

HAPPY (Almost) NEW YEAR! + The Books of 2021

Well Friends, we did it. We survived another wild, strange, difficult year. How are you doing? 

I'm okay. This year was...  well, it was certainly something. I had a lot of really hard firsts: Our first ever restraining order against a neighbor (May-December) and my related first ever severe episode of anxiety. Our first ever marriage counseling sessions, my first time routinely attending weekly therapy, our family's positive covid test results and my month-long quarantine (January).

There were a lot of bright spots mixed in with the bad. The kids got to return to in-person schooling after about a year away. I took more walks and hikes this year - Movement and nature time for my mental health, with my dog as my companion, has been enlightening and joyful for me. Also, I flossed my teeth every day! So fresh and so clean! I maintained friendships by spending time with my favorite people and had several very long phone calls with a couple of friends who I don't see often enough. This summer, we spent time with my sister-in-law Dawn and her kids after a million years apart. We vacationed in Utah with family and visited Idaho with friends and went to Yellowstone National Park for the first time! Also, I made magic every holiday and birthday, because that is what I do. 

Another thing I do is read. I'm not a risk taker, much to my husband's chagrin. I'm not an adventurer. When a pandemic is raging across the globe, I want to be at home, safe and cozy. When a pandemic is not raging, I still want to be at home. I'm not big into watching t.v. shows, though I did watch "The Wheel of Time" (which is based on *ahem* a book series *ahem*) this year. Instead of watching movies or shows, I typically use my cozy, quiet evening time to read. I also listen to a lot of podcasts and audio books throughout the day, while doing chores, driving, running errands, or gardening! 

2021 was a good reading year for me. 

I consumed a total of 68 books. 29 of them were audiobooks. 

This year I read more graphic novels and middle grade books than in years past. This was the year I finally read some V.E. Schwab, I discovered Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and I made my first dive into Sylvia Plath. This was also the year I participated in my first ever Popsugar Reading Challenge and completed the regular portion. I really enjoyed the way the challenge prompted me to branch out and read books I may never have chosen on my own. 

Behold the books of 2021! They were glorious and beautiful. I love them dearly. 

HAPPY 2022, People. May it not suck the joy out of your life!!!!!

Another Year Older

November is my favorite month. 

November is when it finally starts to feel like Autumn (My favorite!) around here, even though the season started a month and a half ago. November also means it's almost Thanksgiving time, and while it is a holiday with a complicated history, it is linked in my mind with fond memories, family gatherings, and lots of delicious food. The most important reason why November is my favorite is because it's my birth month. 

I have always loved my birthday. Growing up in a privileged white collar home with loving parents meant that I received presents each year, celebrated with extended family, or had parties with my friends each time my birthday rolled around. I can remember my Uncle Kevin —whose birthday was near mine, so we all celebrated together— sticking his finger in our shared cake because he thought it was funny. (If I recall correctly, I found this desecration of our birthday cake to be more rude than funny because I am a certified Party-Pooper.) I can remember a birthday party at a rollerskating rink with my friends. I also remember sitting in the trunk of our brown Toyota Tercel wagon on the drive home from the skating rink because all of my friends were in actual seats with seatbelts. The highlight of that drive was popping my head up to make faces out the rear window at people in other cars on the road. My childhood was pretty great. 

As an adult, I continue to love my birthday. I quietly count down to it each year in the back of my mind. (I obnoxiously count down aloud to my family and friends.) I love my birthday as a grown up because it serves as a little milestone for me each year. It's a day to reflect on how far I've come, where I am, and where I hope to go in my life. I love getting cards from family and friends. I love all of the happy birthday wishes that pop up on my social media feeds. Each little note prompts me to pause and reflect on my connection with the well-wisher, our shared history, and fun memories. Those moments of remembering friendships help me to know how very fortunate I am. 

I love my yellow-brown Topaz birthstone. I love being a Scorpio while simultaneously believing that astrology is 95% nonsense. I love that my birthday happens at the time of year when leaves are falling from the trees, shadows are growing longer, the air is getting crisper, and sweaters and scarves are coming out of people's closets. It's a beautiful season. 

This birthday was a good one. I made a new year (because my birthday is the start of my new year... get it?!?) resolution to practice being in the present more. I'm hoping to achieve this greater state of mindfulness by carving out a little more unstructured time for myself *gasp* to do what I want and to do it with intention. We're one week in and so far it's working out great. Last week I used my sacred time to read. This week the dog and I took a long walk in nature. Next week anything is possible. 

Happy November, my friends.

Yesterday Was Mother's Day

Ah Motherhood.

I've been pondering my journey down this path to Mom-Life. Come along with me...

When I was a teenager I decided that if I were to get pregnant in high school or college I would get an abortion. I had too many aspirations, too much to do. I wasn't ready for a kid and I knew it. I wanted kids, one day, but I wanted a doctorate in veterinary medicine first. My plan was in place. School and career first, marriage and kids later.

In college I joined a pretty fundamentalist religion and I made some big life choices around the concept of my future family and kids. Veterinary school seemed like a lot of work, a lot of debt, and I didn't see how I would healthily balance a career as a vet with all of the family responsibility that comes with motherhood. So I took a step back from my childhood aspirations and became rather gloomy while I thought up a backup plan, because I am Type A and I NEED a plan. Always. 

(I wish I had felt less desperate to push forward and progress toward my career, marriage, and kids. I wish I had taken a year off to travel or explore different fields. Alas, my drive and my Mormon beliefs kept me away from a bohemian adventure and I marched forward with my need to check items off my lifetime to-do list.)

My backup plan was a teaching credential. Teaching seemed like an ideal career because I could eventually work in the same school district that my kids attended so we would have the same schedules - My life and career would be perfectly set up to revolve around my kids. And so I began the process of becoming a teacher. While I preferred the idea of a single subject credential so I could teach high school science, my college of choice didn't offer that program right away. I COULDN'T possibly wait twelve months to pursue the science teaching credential, so I jumped into an elementary credential program that began sooner. I enjoyed the program, I made friends and learned bunches, and landed a teaching job just a couple months after graduating. 

I also met my now-husband during that time. We were dating. I was thinking about marriage and kids.

I taught elementary school for a few years. I loved the experience, I loved my students, I loved my coworkers. The job was time-consuming, challenging, emotionally exhausting, yet rewarding. I got married during that time. A couple of years after that, I was pregnant with my first kid. I reached out to the district superintendent and asked if I could work part-time in a job-share the following school year because I loved my job and wanted to keep it, but I also knew that I would want more time at home with my child. The day I came home from the hospital with my newborn daughter, I checked the mail and found out that my request for part-time teaching was denied. I decided right then and there that I would quit teaching and stay home with my kid. 

And I did. 

Writing this out, I am startled to realize that I started sacrificing my career plan and my individual identity to my children BEFORE they were born, BEFORE I HAD EVEN MET THEIR FATHER. I was carving off pieces of Sarah to make room for kids, to shape me into "Mom" well before I had a grasp on what that would mean. What the hell was I thinking? Who the hell am *I* after shaving off so many bits of me along the way? 

Damn the LDS Church and the greater patriarchal American culture for making it so completely acceptable to me to sacrifice myself at the altar of motherhood before I was a fully formed creature. 

Thankfully, I did not entirely let go of my hold on veterinary medicine. I worked as a veterinary assistant through college, through my teacher training, and on Saturdays while I was a school teacher. I am a veterinary assistant still, today. That job never got pushed aside or cut away. That piece of me is still in tact. What a shame it pays garbage. It's one of the few thing that I know I do entirely for me. 

All this being said, I love my kids. I really do. I'm lucky to have them and grateful for them. Yet it is fascinating to take this time to step back and marvel at how many choices I have made (and will continue to make, *sigh*) in the name of their well being while burying my own along the way. 

Happy Mother's Day. 

The Books of 2020!

It's almost 2021! Finally!

I consumed at total of 67 books this year! 25 were in print or ebooks, 42 were audiobooks. Some of these were short stories, two were graphic novels, and one was a short book of poetry.

Fun fact: I have been keeping track of my reading for an entire decade now. My grand total of books read in ten years is... (Drumroll please!) ... 342!!!

My log started in a paper journal. A few years later I began this annual tradition of making a book blog post. Now, I primarily use Goodreads to log my reading as I go, though I do update my paper journal periodically throughout the year, and I can't forsake this annual post. Anyone else keep track of their reading in three logs? No? Just me?... I knew I was a weirdo. That being said, if we're not friends on Goodreads and you'd like to be, let's find each other. 

2020 shall be remembered as the year my ten-year-old daughter and I read several of the same books - I'm looking forward to many more years of that happy situation! This year I realized that Steve West is one of my favorite audiobook readers, not only because he has a dreamy voice, but he sure does have a dreamy voice. It is also the year I discovered several new series, including Arc of a Scythe (loved!), The Wayward Children (excellent!), An Ember in the Ashes (Love!), and The Throne of Glass (Like/and find it annoying!). It is another year during which I reinforced my love of Brandon Sanderson's writing. 

Behold, the books of 2020 in the order they were devoured!(Asterisks denote my most loved/highly recommended books.)

1. The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath -Leslie Jamison (audio)

2. *Starsight (Skyward #2)-Brandon Sanderson 

3. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness -Susannah Cahalan (audio)

4. They Called Us Enemy -George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott

5. The Call of the Wild -Jack London (audio)

6. You Have Arrived at Your Destination -Amar Towles (audio)

7. *Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) -Neal Shusterman

8. *A Gentleman in Moscow -Amor Towles

9. Randomize -Andy Weir (audio)

10. The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future -Veronica Roth

11. A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreaker #2) -Brigid Kemmerer

12. Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orisha #2) -Tomi Adeyami (audio)

13. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (#6) -J.K. Rowling

14. *Warbreaker -Brandon Sanderson (audio) 

15. *Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe #2) -Neal Shusterman

16. *Know My Name -Chanel Miller (audio)

17. Supernova (Renegades #2) -Marissa Meyer (audio)

18. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (#1) -J.K. Rowling (audio) 

19. In Pieces -Sally Field (audio)

20. *The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) -Neal Shusterman

21. *Smoke and Mirrors -Neil Gaiman (audio)

22. Northanger Abbey -Jane Austen (audio)

23. M is for Magic -Neil Gaiman (audio)

24. The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass #0.1-0.5) -Sarah J. Maas

25. Jane Austen BBC Collection -Jane Austen (audio)

26. The Fountains of Silence -Ruta Sepetys (audio)

27. Throne of Glass (#1) -Sarah J. Maas

28. *Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2) -Amie Kaufman (audio)

29. Where the Crawdads Sing -Delia Owens (audio)

30. Summer Frost -Blake Crouch (audio)

31. Atlantia -Ally Condie 

32. Chosen Ones -Veronica Roth

33. *All the Light We Cannot See -Anthony Doerr (audio)

34. Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor -Layla F. Saad

35. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) -Sarah J. Maas

36. How to Be an Antiracist -Ibram X. Kendi (audio)

37. Binti (#1) -Nnedi Okorafor (audio)

38. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games #0) -Suzanne Collins

39. *Magic For Liars -Sarah Gailey (audio)

40. *Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1) -Seanan McGuire (audio)

41. The Last Conversation -Paul Tremblay (audio)

42. *Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children #2) -Seanan McGuire (audio)

43. Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children #3) -Seanan McGuire (audio)

44. In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4) -Seanan McGuire (audio)

45. Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children #5) -Seanan McGuire (audio)

46. Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) -Sarah J. Maas

47. Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body -Roxane Gay (audio)

48. A Blight of Blackwings (Seven Kennings #2) -Kevin Hearne (audio)

49. Stamped from the Beginning -Ibram X. Kendi 

50. Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) -Sarah J. Maas 

51. Unearthed (#1) -Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner (audio)

52. Undying (Unearthed #2) -Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner (audio)

53. City of Girls -Elizabeth Gilbert (audio)

54. *An Ember in the Ashes (#1) -Sabaa Tahir (audio)

55. *A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) -Sabaa Tahir (audio)

56. Midnight Sun (Twilight #5) -Stephanie Meyer (audio)

57. *A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) -Sabaa Tahir (audio)

58. Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) -Sarah J. Maas

59. *The Book of Longings -Sue Monk Kidd (audio)

60. Magic Lessons (Practical Magic #0.1) -Alice Hoffman (audio)

61. Home Body -Rupi Kaur

62. Dracula -Bram Stoker

63. Go With The Flow -Lily Williams

64. *Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive #4) -Brandon Sanderson (audio)

65. Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) -Sarah J. Maas

66. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (#7) -J.K. Rowling

67. Reverie -Ryan La Sala (audio)

Please let me know what books you loved and hated this year, and what you're looking forward to reading next! 

I'll be ringing in the new year with this read.

Goodbye 2020! Thank Goodness for my library and all of the books that kept my mind occupied during such a strange year! 

Nine Months of Sheltering

It has been 39 weeks and 4 days since Friday, March 13th, the last day my kids attended school in person. That's a long time. A human could have fully gestated another entire human during the time that we have been sheltering in place due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Earth has continued to orbit the sun, we've experienced two equinoxes and one solstice in that time. Taylor Swift has written and released two albums. Astronauts have gone to the International Space Station and returned to the planet already. Multiple COVID-19 vaccines have been developed. I have done nothing so grand.

Here are a few of my Shelter In Place accomplishments from the past nine months:

I have become extremely adept at staying in bed until at least 7am every day, even when I shouldn't. I have trained my body to tolerate a cup of coffee or tea almost every day because I like the ritual of making something warm to drink in the morning. I don't get as hyped up on caffeine as I used to after one cup. I have done my house chores religiously, including scooping the litter boxes and picking up dog feces daily. That makes 277 days that I have cleaned up crap since this started! I'm going to put that on my resumé!

Even though I feel like my brain is complete garbage-mush, I have memorized both of my children's school ID numbers and am well practiced at logging in to their school accounts to check on assignments and grades. I have also memorized my library card because I use it weekly to check out books online and schedule curb-side pick up appointments. I have a fun new hobby of playing the game Best Fiends on my phone while listening to audiobooks or podcasts. That must be using two different parts of my brain at the same time, which is good brain exercise, right? 

My awareness of time has slipped into some type vortex. April feels like it was last week, or maybe ten years ago, I'm not really sure. I know I made dinner last night, but I can't recall what we ate. Screen time adds to this phenomenon. Many afternoons, when schoolwork and homework are complete, the kids are free to enjoy some fun screen time. I have developed a new habit that I like to practice during that time; I sit myself down on the couch with my book and my iPhone with every intention of reading, and instead I scroll through Facebook and Instagram, using my unopened book as a hand rest. I'm not particularly proud of that new habit, but it is the one I do most often. 

Other accomplishments include watching every episode of The Mandalorian. We have a new tradition of watching the show together as a family, which we all enjoy. 

We wear our masks when we leave the house, we keep physically distanced when around other people, we don't socialize in person with our friends outside of our social bubble, even though we REALLY miss them. This global pandemic is everywhere (hence the "global" and "pandemic") so I find it strange and shocking when I see pictures of friends who live in other areas participating in mask-less, pre-pandemic-looking social activities. Where I live, local mask recommendations and public restrictions were in place early, eased slightly and gradually over the months, then suddenly strict again last week. I am grateful for, respectful of, and understand the need for the guidelines in place. My county's population is approximately the same as that of the entire state of Idaho, and larger than the ten least populated states. We need to be careful here, and even with our efforts at prevention, the virus is spreading rapidly right now. 

Taken from City of Livermore's Website

Anyhow, here's to nine months in this mess! I'm expecting another solid nine. I'll let you know if I develop any new skills or invent human hibernation.

Stay safe out there. 

Health Recap

HER - The last time I wrote we were in the process of investigating Emma's arthritis and increasing her medication. Well, that higher dose of Enbrel seemed to help for a bit, until it didn't anymore. A blood test revealed that the kid developed antibodies to her medication, so even if we increased the dose further, it was likely not going to work as well as it had in the past. It was time for a change!

Em switched medications about a month ago. She is now on two injectable meds: One is a different biologic (Humira) that will work much like Enbrel did to suppress the immune response that leads to inflammation and arthritis symptoms. The other is methotrexate, which will help with arthritis symptoms and also slow her immune system from making antibodies to the biologic medication. The cool thing about these two meds is they come in injector pens. Just press the cylinder against the skin, click the button and let go, and the needle extends, injects the medication, and retracts. Easy peasy. After a few weekly injections and little practice with a dummy practice injector pen, MY TEN YEAR OLD HAS GIVEN HERSELF HER OWN INJECTION (of Methotrexate) TWICE!!!!! I'm so proud of her. (What a sad and strange accomplishment.)

At this point, we're not really sure if her arthritis symptoms have resolved, but I think they have improved. These meds take several weeks to kick in, so we'll stick with them a bit longer and see how everything goes. 

HIM - As for the other child... I haven't written about this yet, but he was diagnosed with ADD in the Spring. We're trucking along, trying a lot of behavior management techniques and attempting to put procedures in place that will help him be successful in e-schooling and learn to better regulate his emotions. He has become quite skilled at opening additional browser tabs while attended his video classes. When his headphones are on I play a little guessing game... Is he listening closely to his teacher? Is he watching a YouTube video of someone playing a video game? Is he reading a book on Epic? At the end of my game, I lose no matter what because I have to sit next to him for the duration of his class and keep him on task. This is why, if we pursue ADHD medication, I want zero judgment from all of you. I regularly accomplish very little most days that I am home with the kids because my chores are constantly being interrupted to help my little students, or my chores are never begun because I am quite literally my son's one-on-one aide all morning long. I'm thankful for my elementary school teaching credential and my few years of experience as a classroom teacher. I'm also really grateful that my current job was super understanding back in March when I told them I needed to work less hours to be able to support my kids at home. If you are a parent working from home while your children do distance learning, I BOW DOWN BEFORE YOU. Ugh. Parenting during a pandemic is hard.

ME - I had a hernia! TWO in fact! Disgusting!!!

My hernia bulge showed up mid-October. It was officially diagnosed a few weeks later and I had laparoscopic surgery to repair it in mid-November. I'm doing really well over all. Surgery recovery was fast, thanks to laparoscopy. I still have some sore spots and need to ease back into exercise (Ha! When was the last time I actually exercised?!?!) but I'm pretty much back to normal! Hooray! 

I will say that this experience has given me a reason to educate myself quite thoroughly on the anatomy of the inguinal canal. I love the internet. This website was my favorite resource, if you're curious. In a person with a uterus, the round ligament of the uterus runs through said canal. My hernias were both on my right side, which is the side of my weird uterus where I carried my children during both pregnancies. I therefore blame my children for these hernias, naturally. Good thing those kids are cute. 

The Husband - He's fine. That man is as healthy as a horse. That's what you get when you have a career that is by default an all day workout routine. 

How the heck are you?

Pandemic Procedures and Prescriptions

 Oh Emma. 

After restarting medication back in April, Emma got some relief from the arthritis symptoms in her jaw, but not for long. Morning stiffness and a weird squishy sensation started happening in her right jaw joint, so she ended up getting an MRI in August. She was an absolute rockstar during that MRI - she endured an IV catheter like a champ and held still for at least an hour inside that noisy tube while it took pictures of her head. The MRI confirmed the good news that she DOES indeed have a brain AND the bad news that she does indeed have active arthritis, despite weekly Enbrel injections. 

So, we increased the dose of her medication by increasing the frequency of her injections! Try telling a ten year old that she gets to be poked in the arm every five days instead of every seven! It's so much fun!!!

Really though, Emma is a good sport. She is starting to participate more and more in her medical decisions. She wipes her arm clean and mixes her medication for me before every injection. I haven't been able to convince her to give herself a shot, but we'll get there with time. 

She has been on the higher dose of meds for a couple weeks now. It's hard to tell if she is sensing any improvement. She *thinks* the squishy noise and stiffness are happening less often, but she also thinks that maybe she has acclimated to those symptoms so she isn't really noticing them as often. When the arthritis is in her knee it's REALLY easy for me to assess swelling, heat, and stiffness with my own eyes and hands, but her temporomandibular joint? Not so easy. 

She'll get some lab work done in a couple of weeks to see how her body is handling the higher dose of Enbrel, to look for inflammatory markers, and to make sure she hasn't developed antibodies to her medication. Fingers crossed that those results come back favorably. I don't really want to have to switch her meds. 

Juvenile Arthritis is dumb. 

Also, my kid looks really cute in a hospital gown. 

Pandemic: Poor Personality

Blah. 

That about sums up my general disposition for the past two months. Although life was monotonous from March to June, we had the hectic fun of online schooling! We had a schedule! We had daily tasks to accomplish and a reason to get out of bed! Since the first week of June, when school ended for the summer, Pandemic life went downhill for me and I haven't really been able to pull myself out of this slump. 

I have been taking our Shelter In Place extremely seriously since the beginning. The first few months were pretty okay. The extra time at home gave me more time with the kids, lots of opportunities to be involved in their educations, more time to plan and cook yummy meals for dinner. The past two months have been different because I feel so terribly drained. The kids play A LOT of Minecraft, they watch a lot of YouTube videos of other people playing Minecraft (something I NEVER allowed prior to Pandemic Life), and they generally spend way more time on screens than normal. Emma is still reading a ton and Liam will get sucked into LEGO building and playing, but we are all sitting around a ton more than we were even a few months ago. As the Mom and enforcer of rules, I know a large part of the blame for our sedentary lifestyle goes to me. 

There are many ways we could enrich our days while at home. We could do crafts, science experiments, baking projects, and all kinds of hands-on activities. However, as the adult at home, it falls to me to motivate myself and the kids, set up, teach, lead, guide, and enforce clean up for all of those projects. I don't have the mental or emotional capacity for that right now. For the past week I haven't even have the attention span to read a book, and that is a very sad thing. Despite being a complete zombie myself, I usually try to plan an outing in nature once a week. Those adventures involve getting people moving first thing in the morning, which is a fight. Then, once out among the birds, fresh air, and trees, the older child complains of boredom and just wants to go home. Really? Really Child?!!? THIS is boring? I give up! One good routine that has stuck with us since the beginning is to take a neighborhood walk every day. We even got Pokemon Go for the first time ever to make our walks less monotonous! This morning the kids and I committed to jogging around our block instead of just walking, so we'll see how that goes. 

There are some good changes in the past two months. Our county has relaxed some restrictions despite rising numbers of COVID-19 cases. We now have a friend "Social Bubble" and a standing weekly outdoor playdate that gives the kids a chance to play with two other kids and me a chance to chat with one of my best friends face to face, or should I say, mask to mask. The easing of restrictions has also allowed for outdoor sports, so Liam gets to attend a very small outdoor martial arts class once a week at a park. I am extremely grateful that our library is providing curbside pick up now, because the public library is one of the greatest loves of my life. Even as my town has eased restrictions on things like outdoor dining and non-essential stores reopening, I haven't participated in those activities. I still order ahead for pick up and take out when it comes to supporting local shops and restaurants. 

I don't really know the point of this entry other than to document the way things are right now. As of today, Alameda County reports a total of 11,909 and my city is up to 519 cumulative COVID-19 cases. Life is strange and full of drudgery and I am emotionally and physically tired all the time. 

I am actually looking forward to online distance schooling starting in exactly three weeks because it will bring us some much needed structure. Ugh. 

Pandemic & Polyarticular Juvenile Arthritis

Well, it's been a good run.

It has been a solid 18.5 weeks since Emma's last injection of immune suppressing medication to keep her body from attacking her joints. Alas, this round of unmedicated remission is over. It's not our longest stretch off meds, but it's the second longest!

Unfortunately, her jaw started showing signs of arthritis again, as it did back in the Fall of 2017. It started as an occasional discomfort, but for the past few weeks she has been complaining of pain almost every morning while chewing her breakfast. At the end of March, her pain lasted all day, and in the evening she told me that her jaw felt stiff, like she wasn't able to open her mouth as wide as usual. I busted out a ruler, and sure enough, she has lost an entire centimeter of "maximum interincisal opening" since her last doctor's visit two months ago. Well, crap.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the plan was to repeat an MRI if she started experiencing arthritis symptoms in her jaw, but I'm not keen on the idea of taking her into a hospital for imaging right now. Her pediatric rheumatologist agreed with me because she is a sensible lady. We also usually have Emma’s blood drawn for labs at the start of a flare, but we aren’t doing that right now either. We'll continue with our shelter in place, thank you very much.

Emma opted to try starting with NSAIDs, so she began taking ibuprofen twice daily eight days ago. It has done a great job eliminating her pain, but did nothing for the stiffness or range of motion in her jaw. As a result, Emma, her doctor, and I made the decision to restart Enbrel today. Okay, actually *I* made the decision to restart as soon as possible. Em would prefer to wait until the weekend because she is a creature of habit and is accustomed to Sundays being our shot day... Even though every day is like a weekend right now, so I’m not sure why it matters.

***  If you are lost, here’s a quick summary: Emma has an autoimmune disease called Polyarticular (multiple joints affected) Juvenile (happens to kids) Idiopathic (no one knows what causes it) Arthritis (inflammation of joints) and has had it since she was a toddler. In her case, it is well managed with an injectable medication called Enbrel (etanercept). We get to wean her off of that medication each time her arthritis goes into remission. This is the end of her fourth remission and the beginning of her fifth round of treatment. You can read more about JIA at the ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION’S WEBSITE. You might also read through our timeline on this journey to the right of this entry (on the web version) . →→→→→  ***

I will confess, I’m not super excited about restarting my child on her immune suppressing medication in the middle of a global pandemic, but I don’t want to risk permanent damage to her jaw joints. So, here we go. First injection of Round #5 was giving today.

Fingers crossed her wonder drug works fast and well, and that we all stay healthy!!!!

Cookies make injections better. 

***

If you are financially able, I would love if you could donate to Emma’s fundraiser for this year’s Virtual Walk to Cure Arthritis. It is put on by the Arthritis Foundation, a non-profit that has many programs for adults and kids to learn more about their arthritis and meet people with similar diseases. My connections with other families of kids with autoimmune arthritis have been invaluable to me, and the friendships Emma has made with other JA kids are very meaningful.

In addition to bringing people together, the Arthritis Foundation fights for patient rights and goes to bat for patients politically. That feels really important to me right now, when the leader of our nation is talking up a medication, hydroxychloroquine (also known as Plaquenil), as a potential treatment for Covid-19 despite the lack of scientific data to back such claims. You know what hydroxychloroquine has been medically proven to be useful for treating (in addition to Malaria)??? The symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus! Some people who rely on this medication to manage their autoimmune diseases are unable to fill their prescriptions because of the current situation, companies's tendencies to hoard and drive up prices, and the advice of non-medical professionals. That is not okay and makes me cranky inside.

You can donate to support Emma’s efforts on her Walk to Cure Arthritis page, or you can donate to the exact same fundraiser through Emma’s Facebook Walk To Arthritis Cure Donation page (which is super easy if you’ve ever participated in a Facebook fundraiser before.) Any amount helps and we appreciate your support. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THESE LINKS! If you would like to register for our team for the virtual walk, let me know! I'll send you the link to that!

Keep washing those hands, my friends. Please, stay at home. Also, stay away from me for Emma’s sake!!!

Pandemic Pantry Filling and Parenthetical Statements

The Bay Area Shelter in Place began three weeks ago.

According to Johns Hopkins website today (4/7/20) there are 1,429,437 confirmed cases of Covid-19 world wide. 398,786 of those are in the united states. 17,568 of those are in California. Alameda County's website is reporting 602 cases and 15 deaths.

I went shopping again. It has been nearly 2 weeks since my last shopping trip and my refrigerator was looking very empty and sad. I went to my local Lucky grocery and filled my cart to the max! I also got several items for my parents, because, you know... they are *cough* elderly *cough* and shouldn't be going out to the stores if it can be helped.

This was my first outing wearing a mask. I have a few N95 masks because we got some a year and a half ago. The fires in California were polluting our area with smoke to the point that we were told not to go outside without masks and school was cancelled (for one single day). Anyway, I held on to my extra masks, thinking I would need them annually when the fires get bad. I'm glad I have them. If it's not one emergency, it's another, I guess.

Many people at the store wore face coverings, many did not. I didn't wear gloves, but was hyper vigilant about what I touched and which pockets I was allowed to put my dirty hands into for credit cards, keys, etc. Then I used lots of hand sanitizer when I got to the car and did lots of sanitizing again once I was home. Anyhow, I have been very happy with how well Lucky is keeping supplies in stock. I got almost everything on my giant list. The exceptions were eggs (I don't really need them, but figured I'd pick some up while I was out. However, I didn't want to take one of the last few packages, so I didn’t get any.) and SPAM (for Barry!!!) because they didn't have any. I keep forgetting to look for acetaminophen. I should probably buy some to have on hand, since mine is expired, but oh well. Maybe I'll remember in two weeks.

It's Spring Break right now, which means I'm not forcing my kids to do academics, so they are spending way too much time playing video games, or watching movies and shows. Emma also keeps busy practicing for her angsty teenage years by listening to music with earbuds in while reading, texting and video-calling her friends, and composing poetry. She also plays Dungeons and Dragons with friends over video calls, and today played Prodigy online with friends while on a group phone call. Technology is awesome. Liam loves playing computer games, our Classic Nintendo, or re-watching the entire LEGO Ninjago series. He keeps himself entertained outside for longer than Emma, but came in today complaining that the sun was too hot. It was like 65º F today - what is he going to tell me in a month when it's 85º F out there? He also attends weekly Zoom Martial Arts classes, so that's cool. I make the kids and the dog go on a short walk with me around the neighborhood every day.

Next week, distance learning will resume. School is out of session through the end of the school year, but our district has a plan to provide students with curriculum and a "credit" or "no credit" grade for this final trimester. Since we only have our one laptop, I put in a request to borrow a school ChromeBook. I'll pick one up next week and my kids won't have to share a single computer for all of their schooling, so maybe we'll be more productive? Who knows.

I have cut back my work to two full days a week so that I can be home with the kids more for all of this schooling madness. Last week my husband was laid off from his construction job and we don’t how long it will be before he is back to work. I’m kind of happy that they closed down many construction sites. I’m taking this shelter in place very seriously and want to keep my family safe. Also, I want to keep you people safe from my family’s nasty germs.

On that note, I’d like to say that I am proud to live in California! Our state began social distancing  and sheltering in place before other states, and as a result the virus isn’t spreading as quickly as in other areas. Yay, CA!

Please hunker down my friends! Stay at home, wash your hands, and be kind!

Pandemic Positivity

No, I'm not talking about positive test results. We'd have to actually be testing the public to have any of those! What I'm talking about are positive moments and looking on the bright side amidst this pandemic, social distancing, and sheltering in place.

Of course I'm worried about people's lives and health. I'm worried about the economy. I'm worried about going stir-crazy. At the same time, these new circumstances are revealing a lot of good in the world. Have you noticed the different ways that people are connecting through social media? The general kindness that people are showing to others? I have.

These are some of my favorite bright spots during Covid-19 social distancing and isolation:

• Live Music! SO many artists and musicians are performing live on social media. I've attended several very intimate living room concerts with some amazing artists in the past week via live or recorded videos on Facebook or Instagram and I LOVE IT. Music is a balm to my soul.
• Literature! Actors and celebrities are recording themselves reading novels, Shakespearean sonnets, and poetry and posting those videos on social media. 
• BOOKS! I'm having a hard time actually sitting down to read, still, I am overwhelmed by the amount of digital and audio books that have recently been made free on multiple platforms. Also, my library has a wide range of (always free) e-books and audiobooks. Also, the fact that my library is closed means I get to hold on to my actual library books waaaaay past their original due dates! 
• Not getting dressed on days I don't go in to work! (I don't need to explain that one, do I?)
• My calendar is suddenly very empty. I don't have to shuttle my children back and forth and back and forth. I don't have to rush and show up late, cram shopping trips between extracurricular activities, or squeeze in social gatherings. I don't spend time wondering, "Should I feed the pets dinner early, now? Or will I be home at a decent hour to feed them?"
• Creativity!!!! I actually have time to write in this blog! Wow!
• Flexible bedtime! Since I am sleeping like crap, it doesn't really matter if I go to bed early and lose hours to tossing and turning, or if I stay up until midnight finishing a book and then zonk out hard for five solid hours of actual sleep. The results are pretty much the same. As a result, I'm finding that my bedtime and resulting morning get-out-of-bed time are shifting later and later. 

That's all for now, maybe I'll add more later. Please comment with some of your favorite bright spots amidst this pandemic and shelter in place!